Table 2.
Geographic and sociodemographic profile of the households and respondents.
| Variables | Definitions | (N = 47,257) (%) | Access to Improved Sanitation 47.7% (95% CI = 45.8–49.6) |
Access to Improved Water 46.0% (95% CI = 43.7–48.3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | ||||
| 1996 | Year of conducting the field work | 8082, 17.1 | 5.6 (4.7, 6.6) | 19.3 (17.7, 20.9) |
| 2001 | 8602, 18.2 | 11.6 (10.5, 12.9) | 14.0 (12.4, 15.8) | |
| 2006 | 8707, 18.4 | 14.9 (12.9, 17.1) | 16.4 (14.1, 19.0) | |
| 2011 | 10,826, 22.9 | 27.4 (24.4, 30.6) | 23.3 (20.6, 26.3) | |
| 2016 | 11,040, 23.4 | 40.5 (37.4, 43.7) | 27.0 (24.3, 29.9) | |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
| Developmental region | ||||
| Eastern | Divisions based on administrative goals and state of socioeconomic development | 10,063, 21.3 | 18.6 (16.4, 21.0) | 17.9 (15.7, 20.3) |
| Central | 14,412, 30.5 | 36.8 (33.8, 40.0) | 42.7 (39.6, 45.8) | |
| Western | 11,731, 24.8 | 31.0 (28.1, 34.0) | 25.3 (22.5, 28.2) | |
| Midwestern | 5847, 12.4 | 8.1 (6.7, 9.7) | 9.2 (7.6, 11.1) | |
| Far-western | 5204, 11 | 5.5 (4.7, 6.3) | 4.9 (4.2, 5.8) | |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
| Ecological zone * | ||||
| Mountain | Divisions based on biogeographical and climactic patterns |
5450, 13.9 | 6.8 (5.5, 8.3) | 12.6 (10.8, 14.7) |
| Hill | 16,748, 42.8 | 52.1 (48.6, 55.5) | 68.5 (64.8, 71.9) | |
| Terai | 16,977, 43.3 | 41.2 (37.8, 44.6) | 18.9 (15.8, 22.4) | |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
| Urbanicity | ||||
| Urban | Whether the household if located in rural or urban site | 14,721, 31.2 | 41.5 (38.7, 44.4) | 38.4 (35.5, 41.5) |
| Rural | 32,536, 68.8 | 58.5 (55.6, 61.3) | 61.6 (58.5, 74.5) | |
| p-value | 0.230 | <0.001 | ||
| Wealth index * | ||||
| Poorest | Index of relative wealth status of households based on the possession of durable goods (e.g., refrigerator and TV) and building material (e.g., concrete and wooden), rather than personal income | 6970, 22.8 | 11.6 (10.1, 13.3) | 23.5 (21.1, 26.0) |
| Poorer | 6070, 19.9 | 13.2 (12.0, 14.6) | 19.6 (18.0, 21.4) | |
| Middle | 5381, 17.6 | 15.4 (14.2, 16.7) | 15.0 (13.5, 16.6) | |
| Richer | 5822, 19 | 25.2 (23.5, 27.0) | 17.4 (15.5, 19.5) | |
| Richest | 6330, 20.7 | 34.6 (32.0, 37.4) | 24.5 (21.5, 27.8) | |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
| Age | ||||
| <30 | Respondent’s age in completed year at the time of the survey | 7912, 16.7 | 16.1 (15.2, 17.0) | 17.1 (16.2, 17.9) |
| 30–39 | 11,606, 24.6 | 23.7 (23.0, 24.5) | 23.4 (22.7, 24.1) | |
| 40–49 | 10,478, 22.2 | 21.9 (21.3, 22.6) | 22.0 (21.4, 22.6) | |
| 50–59 | 8634, 18.3 | 18.9 (18.2, 19.6) | 18.3 (17.7, 18.9) | |
| 59+ | 8627, 18.3 | 19.3 (18.6, 20.1) | 19.2 (18.5, 20.0) | |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
| Sex | ||||
| Male | Sex of the respondent | 36,217, 76.6 | 73.4 (72.4, 74.3) | 74.9 (74.0, 75.8) |
| Female | 11,040, 23.4 | 26.6 (25.7, 27.6) | 25.1 (24.2, 26.0) | |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
| Education | ||||
| No education | Highest educational level obtained by the respondents categorised in terms of number of schooling years | 22,590, 47.8 | 34.3 (33.1, 35.6) | 44.1 (42.7, 45.5) |
| Primary | 10,468, 22.1 | 21.8 (21.0, 22.6) | 23.0 (22.3, 23.8) | |
| Secondary/higher | 10,500, 22.2 | 43.9 (42.4, 45.3) | 32.9 (31.4, 34.4) | |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||
N.B. * = Numbers do not add up due to missing observations. p-values are from Pearson’s Chi-Square tests.