Rwanda - Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV7), 2023-2024, Cross-Sectional Sample

The EICV7 data collection was covered over a 12 months period (October 2023 to October 2024). In order to represent the seasonality in the income and consumption data, the fieldwork was divided into nine nationally representative cycles.
The NISR developed a Master Sample of primary sampling units (PSUs) based on data from the 2022 Rwanda Census of Population and Housing. This master sample was designed to support various national household surveys during the intercensal period, including the EICV. Samples were drawn from each of the country's 30 districts (strata). Within each stratum, the Master Sample PSUs were selected using probability proportional to size (PPS), with the number of households enumerated in the Census serving as the measure of size for each Enumeration Area (EA).
In order to determine the sample size for the EICV7, NISR examined EICV5 data to compute the sampling errors and 95% confidence intervals for district level poverty rate estimates. Although the precision of EICV5 results at the district level was fairly reasonable, NISR decided to slightly increase the sample size and adjust the sample design for EICV7 to further improve the precision of the district-level results. Concerning the three districts of Kigali, a sample of 72 EAs per district was selected, while 54 EAs were selected in districts outside Kigali during the first sampling stage. Overall, a total of 1,674 EAs were distributed across nine data collection cycles over 12 months.
Within each district, the sample EAs were allocated to urban and rural strata in proportion to the total number of households in the Census frame. For each sampled cluster, a comprehensive listing operation of all households in the EA was conducted to update the household count in the Master Sample.
At the second sampling stage, nine households per sample Enumeration Area (EA) were selected across all districts. To distribute the sample interviews and facilitate the logistics during the 12-months data collection period, the sample EAs were divided into nine cycles each lasting approximately 40 days. To further facilitate the enumeration, each process was subdivided into three sub-cycles of 12 days each. For the team to be able to rest and reach the sample EAs assigned to the next sub-cycle, one rest day was allocated between sub-cycles, and two rest days were provided among cycles.
In each of the three districts of Kigali, eight sample EAs were enumerated per cycle, while six sample were enumerated in districts outside Kigali. With the aim of ensuring high response rates, three households were randomly selected as replacements for the nine-existing households, in cases where replacements were necessary.
Questionnaires
The same questionnaire was used for cross-sectional and VUP samples.
The questionnaire design considered the needs and requests of major data users and stakeholders, while also ensuring consistency with previous EICV questionnaires. The EICV7 questionnaires were developed not only to maintain this consistency but also to incorporate recommendations from the East African Community (EAC).
The EICV7 survey underwent major changes in several key modules. While sections such as Household Identification, Migration, Health, Education, and Housing saw only minor updates, other areas were significantly revised.
The Employment section now focuses solely on the respondent's main job, with data collection on multiple jobs discontinued. Agriculture module was shortened compared to previous EICV rounds.
The Consumption module was extensively updated. Food consumption is now recorded separately from expenditure and categorized by source (purchase, own production, or gift/in-kind). Food consumed away from home is more comprehensively captured. For non-food items, data are now collected on both purchases and in-kind receipts.
In terms of transfers from section 9, all types of food and non-food transfers, including in-kind support-are now captured under Section 8 (Consumption). Only cash transfers received by households remained in Section 9 (Transfers and VUP), which has also been revised to reflect recent changes in the components of the VUP program.
The Credit, Durables, and Savings section includes important updates-particularly in the Durables subsection, where the list of durable goods was revised and the questions improved to better capture the use value of assets.
The EICV7 questionnaire was programed in CSPRO by Data processing team at NISR with support of a data processing expert.
Data Collection
Data Collection Dates
Cycle Start End
1 10/16/2023 11/22/2023
2 11/26/2023 1/2/2024
3 1/6/2024 2/12/2024
4 2/16/2024 3/24/2024
5 3/28/2024 5/4/2024
6 5/8/2024 6/14/2024
7 6/18/2024 7/25/2024
8 7/29/2024 9/4/2024
9 9/8/2024 10/15/2024

Data Collection Notes
The Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV7) implemented a comprehensive data collection process spanning from October 2023 to October 2024. The survey employed a systematic approach to ensure high-quality data collection across Rwanda.
Questionnaire Development and Validation NISR conducted stakeholder consultation meetings in June 2023, bringing together representatives from government ministries, institutions, and international partners including UNICEF and the World Bank Group. These sessions validated the EICV7 questionnaire and incorporated necessary modifications before finalization.
The survey involved extensive training programs beginning with a pilot training for 15 enumerators in July 2023, followed by field practice in Musanze. The main training program ran from August to September 2023, with 184 field staff selected from 208 trainees. Additionally, 17 graduate students were recruited and trained as price collectors to ensure accurate market data collection.
Field Organization Structure EICV7 employed a hierarchical organization spanning national, regional, district, and team levels. The fieldwork was coordinated by three national coordinators, supported by regional supervisors across five zones. Data collection utilized 37 teams total: 31 cross-sectional teams and 6 VUP (Vision Umurenge Programme) sample teams, comprising 147 enumerators and 37 team leaders.
The survey utilized Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology with tablets. Data collection followed a systematic approach where enumerators listed households within clusters, with team leaders selecting and assigning households for enumeration. The process was conducted electronically through the EICV7 CAPI application. More details can be found in the EICV7 Methodological notes report.
Response Rate
The response rate exceeded 99% by the end of the survey, with 15,054 out of the 15,066 targeted households successfully interviewed.
Supervision
Rwanda was divided into five regions (Central, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern) to streamline the supervision of EICV7 fieldwork at the regional level. Each region was assigned two supervisors responsible for addressing any challenges encountered in the field daily within their respective region. All supervisors reported directly to the National Coordinators. More details can be found in the EICV7 Methodological notes report.


The weights for the EICV7 Cross-Sectional Survey were calculated based on the probabilities of selection at each stage of sampling. This ensured that the data were weighted to represent the total household-based population of Rwanda. Typically, it is necessary to adjust the weights to account for non-interviewed households within each sample village. However, during the EICV7 Cross-Sectional Survey, all non-interviewed households were successfully replaced during data collection, resulting in exactly nine completed interviews per sample cluster. In this case there is no need to adjust the EICV7 Cross-Sectional Survey weights for non-response. More details can be found in the EICV7 Methodological notes report.