Are Age Misreporting Patterns Universal? Evidence and Methodological Solutions for Sub-Saharan Africa

Marília Nepomuceno , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Benjamin-Samuel Schlueter, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Yempabou Bruno Lankoande, Institut Superieur des Sciences de la Population at the Joseph Ki-Zerbo University

Self-reporting of age is still the main way to learn about individuals' age across the globe. However, such reports are often subject to errors. Self-reported ages may be systematically understated, overstated, or distorted due to digit preference. Although age heaping has been extensively documented worldwide, little is known about whether systematic under- or over-reporting of age is similarly universal. To date, systematic over- or under-reporting of age has been documented in some high-income countries such as the United States of America, as well as in some low- and middle-income countries like India. However, methods for addressing these types of errors remain scarce. Evidence and methodological solutions for sub-Saharan Africa are particularly limited, leaving open questions about whether patterns in this region resemble those documented elsewhere and how this data problem can be addressed. This study takes an important step toward filling this gap by providing new insights into patterns of systematic age misreporting in Burkina Faso using record-linkage data. Using this data, we identify patterns of age misreporting across ages and compare them with those documented in other countries. Then, we develop a transition matrix of age misreporting to adjust distortions in population age distributions driven by both systematic under- or over-reporting of age and age heaping. Finally, we assess the impact of systematic age misreporting on demographic rates and summary demographic measures. Our preliminary findings show that systematic under- or overreporting of age is not universal. Country- or region-specific strategies are necessary to address this data problem.

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 Presented in Session 78. Assessing and Improving the Quality of Mortality Data