Notes on infant and childhood mortality levels and trends in Botswana

Abstract

This paper is based on the Botswana Demographic Survey (2006), and the 2001 and 2011 Population and Housing Censuses (PHC) data. The 2011 census allows us to estimate the past and current levels of infant and childhood mortality. The paper explores whether there still exist mortality differentials between the urban and the rural areas. The data shows that infants and children in the urban areas enjoy higher chances of survival than their rural counterparts. The paper also explores at national and district level whether the girl child enjoys relatively higher chances of survival than the boy child as shown by findings from previous censuses.