Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/146238 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2016/43
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
The rate of fertility decline has been slow in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using the Demographic and Health Surveys for 21 SSA countries between 1990 and 2014, we examine the within-country fertility patterns by wealth, applying the Bongaarts (2015) proximate determinants model. We find that overall, fertility has declined in SSA for the richest, but not for the poorest, and this translates to a slow decline in the national-level total fertility rate. We find that breastfeeding periods are generally declining, putting upward pressure on the fertility rate. Contraceptive use is increasing, particularly for the richest, reducing fertility for these quintiles alone.
Subjects: 
proximate determinants of fertility
contraceptive use
delay of marriage
breastfeeding
demographic dividend
sub-Saharan Africa
JEL: 
J11
J13
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-086-7
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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