DOB1STKIDCMC (V211) is a 4-digit numeric variable.

9998 = Missing
9999 = NIU (not in universe)

Description

DOB1STKIDCMC (V211) reports the century month code (CMC) for the date of the woman's first birth.

Century month codes (CMC) are particularly important to check consistency of dates, to calculate intervals between events, and to impute dates when the information for an event is missing or partially complete.

Century month codes (CMC) are calculated by multiplying by 12 the difference between the year of an event and 1900. That year was chosen as the reference period because all of the DHS relevant events occurred during the twentieth or twenty-first centuries. The month of the event is added to the previous result.

For example, the CMC for June 2002 will be:

In other words, 1,230 months have elapsed since January 1900 to June 2002. Based on CMC it is possible to calculate the month and year using the following formulas:

For more information, visit The DHS Program website to find the latest Guide to DHS Statistics.

Comparability

Apart from universe differences, DOB1STKIDCMC (V211) is largely comparable across samples. While all samples in this variable utilize the Gregorian calendar, other samples utilize country-specific calendars and are excluded from DOB1STKIDCMC but are included in the country-specific variables.

The Ethiopian samples use a country-specific calendar. As a result, all Ethiopian samples are excluded from DOB1STKIDCMC, but are included in the variable DOB1STKIDCMC_ET, which is country-specific to Ethiopia.

Comparability - Standard DHS

DOB1STKIDCMC (V211) is a standard recode variable included in every phase of the DHS data.

Universe