Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys

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The Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) are household surveys carried out by countries with support from UNICEF to provide reliable, comparable data on children and women. They started in India in the early 1990s as Extended Child Survival and Safe Motherhood surveys, and Bangladesh later adapted the approach, conducting the first full MICS in 1993 with 28 indicators.

In 1994, experts reviewed the method and UNICEF encouraged more countries to use it to monitor progress toward child-related goals. Since then, MICS has been conducted in rounds:
- MICS1 (mid-1990s): implemented in over 60 countries to measure mid-decade progress.
- MICS2 (2000): deeper indicators.
- MICS3 (began 2006): aligned with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
- MICS4 (launched 2009; most fieldwork 2011–2013): expanded coverage and indicators.
- MICS5 (2012): MDG-focused data.
- MICS6 (2016): baseline data for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and related targets.
- MICS7 (2023): continued SDG focus with new measures such as mental health and time use.

As of 2024, more than 400 MICS surveys have been completed or confirmed in over 120 countries and territories. MICS is highly comparable to the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), and the two programs’ technical teams collaborate closely. If DHS funding or operations change, MICS remains a major data source for low- and middle-income countries, while DHS historical data continue to be available for trends.

Core features:
- A standard list of indicators guides the surveys; in MICS6 there were about 200 indicators (237 with sex-disaggregation).
- Core questionnaires cover Household, Women (ages 15–49), Children under five, Men, and Children aged 5–17; an ITN module is optional in non-malarious countries.
- Practical tools include a data entry program (CSPro), a tabulation plan (Excel), SPSS syntax, training programs, in-country capacity building, and online resources. All materials are available on the MICS website.

How the program works:
- The generic questionnaires include all modules, and implementers remove non-applicable parts (for example, the ITN module in non-malarial settings).
- The 6th round expanded to cover about half of the SDG indicators, with field tests and pilots in several countries between 2015 and 2019.
- The program continually develops new tools, such as water quality testing, child disability measures, and emergency impact assessments.

Costs and impact:
- Each round has its own cost estimates; MICS data are widely used for global statistics, as well as country trend analyses. They heavily inform MDG and SDG-related reporting.

New participants:
- In MICS7, six new countries joined: Armenia, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. Pacific nations also joined in earlier rounds.

Where to find results:
- Reports and data are available on the MICS website. The program supports ongoing data collection, analysis, and dissemination to help track the situation of children and women worldwide.