Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys

At the core of MICS is the list of indicators. In MICS6 this is a compilation of now 200 distinct indicators (237 counting those requiring sex disaggregate).[3] The list is not inclusive of all standard tabulations produced in a full survey, but forms those that are central to global monitoring by UNICEF and others. The list is a central message in MICS, as no question is asked in the questionnaires without directly contributing to an indicator algorithm or a background variable. Thus, survey-specific additional questions are always suggested to follow the same guidelines: No question should be asked without a clear plan for tabulation of results.

The 6th round of MICS commenced in October 2016 with the initiation of the Programme's Survey Design Workshops and was scheduled to run to 2021 (this has since been extended to 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related delays of face-to-face surveys). The content is expanded to cover new priorities, including adjustments to cover approximately half of the survey-based SDG indicators (about 40 of about 80).

The 6th round's tools were piloted in Costa Rica in mid-2016, and was preceded by a field test of new or refined questionnaire modules and tools for data collection and processing in Belize end of 2015.[4] In November 2017 additional questionnaire modules were tested in Malawi.[5] A similar exercise was conducted in Belize in April 2019.[6]

The MICS Programme is participating in the methodological development of new data collection tools, such as on water quality testing, child disability, external economic support, and impact of emergencies.[7] A methodological paper series was launched in 2012.[8]

The programme has been evaluated following rounds 1,[9] 3,[10] and 4.[11]

The total cost for MICS3 was about $18.6 million (and about $356,000 per country) according to a 2008 MICS evaluation.[12]^: 7

MICS4 was estimated to cost $31.3 million.[12]^: 10

The countries listed below have conducted (or plan to conduct) a MICS survey. Reports and data are available on the MICS website.[13]

	MICS1	MICS2	MICS3	MICS4	MICS5	MICS6	MICS7
Afghanistan	X	XS		X		X
Albania		X	X				X
Algeria	X	X	X	X		X
Angola	X	X
Argentina				X		X
Azerbaijan		X					X
Bahrain		X
Bangladesh	XX		X		X	X
Barbados				X
Belarus			X	X		X
Belize			X	X	X
Benin					X	X
Bhutan				X
Bolivia	X	X
Bosnia and Herzegovina		X	X	XS
Botswana		X
Burkina Faso	X		X
Burundi	X	X	X
Cameroon		X	X		X
Central African Republic	X	X	X	X		X
Chad		X		X		X
China	X
Comoros		X				X
Democratic Republic of Congo	X	X		X		X
Congo					X
Costa Rica				X		X
Cote d'Ivoire	X	X	X		X
Croatia	X
Cuba		X	X	X	X	X
North Korea	X	X		X		X
Djibouti			X
Dominican Republic		X			X	X
Egypt	X				S
El Salvador					X
Equatorial Guinea		X
Eswatini	X	X		X	X	X
Ethiopia	X
Federated States of Micronesia						X
Fiji						X
Gabon	X
Gambia	X	X	X	X		X
Georgia		X	X			X
Ghana	X		XS	XS		X
Guinea	X				X
Guinea-Bissau	X	X	X	X	X	X
Guyana		X	X		X	X
Honduras						X
India	X	X
Indonesia	X	X		SS
Iran	XX
Iraq	X	X	X	X		X
Jamaica			X	X		X
Kazakhstan			X	X	X		X
Kenya	S	X	S	SS	SSS
Kiribati						X
Kosovo					XS	XS
Kyrgyzstan	X		X		X	XX
Laos	X	X	X	X		XX
Lebanon		XS	S	S			X
Lesotho	X	X				X
Liberia	X
Libya		X
Madagascar	X	X		S		X
Malawi	X		X		X	X
Maldives	X	X
Mali	X			X	X
Mauritania	X		X	X	X
Mexico					XS
Moldova		X		X
Mongolia	X	X	X	XSS	XSS	X
Montenegro			X		XS	XS
Mozambique	X		X
Myanmar	X	X	X
Nauru						X
Nepal	X			S	X	X
Nicaragua						X
Niger	X	X
Nigeria	X	X	X	X	X	X
North Macedonia		X	X	XS		XS
Oman	X				X
Pakistan	X			SS	SSSS	SSSSS
Palestine	X	X		X	X	X
Panama	X				X
Paraguay					X
Philippines	X	X
Qatar				X		X
Rwanda		X
Saint Lucia				X		X
Samoa						X
São Tomé and Príncipe	X	X	X		X	X
Senegal	X	X			S
Serbia			X	XS	XS	XS
Sierra Leone	X	X	X	X		X
Somalia	SS	X	X	SS		X
South Sudan				X
Sudan	X	XS		X	X	X
Suriname		X	X	X		X
Syria	X	XS	XS
Tajikistan		X	X
Tanzania	X
Thailand			X	X	XSS	X	X
Togo	X	X	X	X		X
Tonga						X
Trinidad and Tobago		X	X	X		X
Tunisia		X	X	X		X
Turkey	X
Turkmenistan	X		X		X	X
Turks and Caicos Islands						X
Tuvalu						X
Ukraine		X	X	X
Uruguay				X
Uzbekistan		X	X			X
Vanuatu			X			X
Venezuela		X
Viet Nam	X	X	X	X	X	X
Yemen	X		X			X
Yugoslavia	X	X
Zambia	X	X
Zimbabwe			X		X	X

X: National Survey S: Sub-national Survey

Note: Only countries from UNICEF's official list are included. It appears that some surveys are based on the MICS tools, but not included in the list, e.g. Botswana 2007-08 Family Health Survey[14] and Bangladesh 2009 Progotir Pathey (MICS).[15]

The total number of countries having ever conducted a MICS (or plan to do so) is 119. This includes Yugoslavia, which at the time of MICS1 and MICS2 was the territory now split into Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia. In MICS5, five countries were new to the programme: Benin, Congo, El Salvador, Mexico, and Paraguay. In MICS6, eight additional countries have conducted or are planning surveys: The Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Honduras, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos Islands.

Survey data are widely used, predominantly in multi-country analyses, but also often for simple trend analyses in single countries. An example of use of MICS data is provided by Monasch et al. (2004).[16]

Due to the near perfect comparability between MICS and DHS, much analysis draws on multiple data sets of both programmes. However, each survey programme have modules specific to their mandates and not often used in both programmes. For example, a recent compilation of evidence on child discipline makes use of surveys that included the Child Discipline Module; these were all MICS.[17]

Most global statistics, such as on the indicators of the MDGs rely heavily on data collected through MICS (and other household surveys), particularly for countries where administrative reporting systems are not entirely adequate. Other global statistics rely on only household survey data, such as the Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by OPHI and reported by UNDP.

Examples of recent publications are listed under external links.