SDG 4 Data Digest 2020: Using Household Survey Data to Monitor SDG 4

The 2020 edition of the SDG 4 Data Digest by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics focuses on household surveys as an important and underutilized tool to collect the data needed to track progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 and to ensure that no one is left behind. The Digest describes existing survey programmes and offers advice on the design and implementation of new surveys. The Digest identifies a number of advantages to using household surveys and describes the categories of indicators best suited for monitoring with survey data. Data from household surveys complement administrative data collected in schools and can be disaggregated to a greater extent than administrative data to facilitate the monitoring of exclusion in education. The definitions and calculation methods of selected indicators are laid out and the combination of household survey data with data from other sources is explained.

This issue of the Digest is aimed at government officials, national planners, donors and others who make decisions about the implementation of nationally representative household surveys. It describes the requirements for conducting a household survey and the steps that must be followed from questionnaire design to data collection and analysis, and it gives advice on presentation of the findings. A section on COVID-19 summarizes the impact of the current pandemic on data collection. Additional resources, with suggested survey questions for the collection of education data through household surveys, are also included.