Section P: Characteristics of population

[Questions 1-6 were asked of all members of the household.]

5. How old was the respondent at his/her last birthday?

P05: Age at last birthday: How old was [the person] at his/her last birthday?
[For private and institutional household questionnaires]
Always start by asking the person's age and follow up with the question on the date of birth as a consistency check on the former question (P05). Write the person's age in completed years - that is, the person's age at his or her last birthday. For babies under one year of age, write 000.

Use three digits in completing age; e.g. "001", "002", etc.

Many people do not know their ages. If a person's age is not known, you must make the best estimate possible. There are various ways in which you can estimate a person's age. Sometimes, people have documents, such as baptismal certificates, which show the year of birth, in which case it is easy to calculate age. Most people have identity cards showing when they were born.
It is sometimes possible to estimate a person's age by relating his or her birth to some notable historical event. With these instructions a historical calendar of events [see Appendix] which lists the dates of events in the history of each district can be helpful. If the person can remember how old she/he was at the time of the event, you can work out the person's age.

Check that it is compatible with his or her relationship to others in the household. Obviously children cannot be older than their parents; a women seldom of 19 years old who is a mother of young boy of 18 years old, and so on.

Note: Note that any estimate of age, however rough, is better than 'blank' in this question. Do the best you can to report ages accurately.

If the response is 3 years to be completed in the given boxes with two digits, enumerator writes as follows: 003.