Socio-demographic characteristics of a semi-urban community in northern Nigeria

Introduction: In between censuses, which are usually conducted decennially, data on population can be obtained from time to time through small-scale intensive community survey that may provide some information for decision-making. This survey was conducted with a view to providing some valid, reliable socio-demographic information in semi-urban community in Northern Nigeria. Methodology: A cross-sectional community based descriptive study design was used to study the total population of Layin Zomo, a semi-urban settlement in Zaria, Nigeria. Following a household listing, socio-demographic information was collected from households. Result: The total population was 3, 213, of these 51.4% were males while 48.6% were females. The average household size was 8. The median age was 15.2years and the dependency ratio was 0.93. The major occupation was farming. The adult literacy rate was 63% for males and 47.9% for females while the school enrolment rate was 93.4% for males and 93.9% for females. Conclusion: The study revealed that more frequent ad-hoc small-scale intensive surveys are needed to obtain valid, reliable demographic information for planning health intervention programmes and allocation of scarce resources to relevant sectors. KEY WORDS: Socio-Demographic characteristics; Semi urban Community; Nigeria Journal of Community Medicine & Primary Health Care Vol.16(2) 2004: 55-59