Household survey questionnaire template for South Africa
A full household questionnaire covering the roster, education, work, health, food security, housing, assets, income, spending and mobile money. This version is set up for South Africa.
Researchers, NGOs, government units and consultants who need a ready household questionnaire to adapt for a poverty, livelihoods or service-access survey.
- Word document
- Editable, no password
- Includes consent script and analysis guide
Already set up for South Africa
| Interview languages | Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi, English and Setswana |
|---|---|
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR) |
| First-level divisions | Provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape and more |
| Mobile money | M-PESA |
| Data protection law | Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) (2013). Regulator: Information Regulator (source) |
We checked these details against the public sources linked on this page. This is not legal advice: have your consent script reviewed against the law before you interview.
What is inside
- Interview and household identification, then a household roster.
- Education, work, health, food security, housing, water and sanitation.
- Assets, income, spending, shocks, and use of mobile money and phones.
- A consent script, a pre-field checklist and an analysis and reporting guide.
How long it takes
| Mode | Interview length | Questions to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Face to face, full version | About 40 to 55 minutes for an average household of five | About 80, in modules you can cut |
| Face to face, cut down | 25 to 30 minutes | Roster, food security, water and sanitation, plus one module |
| Phone | Cap the call at 20 to 25 minutes | Only the modules you need |
How to use it
- Choose your modules. You rarely need every module. Keep the roster and the modules tied to your indicators, and drop the rest. Shorter interviews cost less and have fewer drop-outs.
- Define the household and the respondent. Decide who counts as a household member and who answers. The template asks the interviewer to confirm the respondent is an adult usual member before continuing.
- Match local measures. Replace the currency, the local units for land and food, and the list of regions. The country versions fill the country, currency, languages, regions and mobile money providers for you.
- Train and pilot. Train interviewers on the consent script and the skip logic, and pilot the form on real households before the main fieldwork.
- Plan the sample properly. Household surveys are usually clustered, which makes the design effect larger than one. Plan your sample size with that in mind and weight the results before you report them.
Sample questions
A few of the questions as they appear in the template. Items in square brackets are for you to fill.
- Is the respondent aged 18 or older and a usual member of this household?
- In the last 12 months, did any household member move away or join the household for more than 3 months?
- Does the household own farmland or livestock?
- How much did the household pay in total for this illness, including medicines and transport?
- Was there a time when your household ran out of food because of a lack of money or other resources?
- What kind of toilet facility do household members usually use?
- In the last 7 days, what is the value of food the household grew or received as a gift and ate?
- Do you personally use any of the following mobile money services? M-PESA
Check your sample size first
Before you field, work out how many completed interviews you need with the sample size calculator and check the precision with the margin of error calculator.
See the master version for use in any country, or switch country: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda.
Frequently asked questions
Is this suitable for a government or donor-funded survey?
It is a solid starting questionnaire. Funders often require their own standard modules, so compare it with their requirements and add or swap sections as needed.
Are the food security questions standard?
They are based on common experience-based measures. If your funder requires an exact standard, such as the FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale wording, use their text word for word.
Can I run it by phone?
A full household roster is long on the phone. Cap calls at 20 to 25 minutes, keep only the modules you need, or run face to face and use the phone for follow-up.
What is already filled in for South Africa?
The country name, the local currency (South African rand), the main interview languages, the list of provinces, the main mobile money services and the data protection law we found. Everything else, such as your company and product, is left in square brackets for you.
Which data protection law applies in South Africa?
We found Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) (2013), overseen by Information Regulator. Check it against your own study and, for sensitive topics, get the consent script reviewed by a local professional.
Does it include a sampling plan?
It includes guidance on how to think about the sample and what to report. Designing the sample itself depends on your population list and budget.
Is it free?
Yes. Leave your name and email and we send you the file.