Determinants and Consequences of High Fertility in Sub Saharan Africa and the Implications for Reaping and Optimizing Demographic Dividends (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Sociology - Culture, Technology, Peoples / Nations, Obafemi Awolowo University, course: Demography and Social Statistics, language: English, abstract: The sub-Saharan African region is characterised by women with preference for higher fertility and those largely with poor socioeconomic status. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge on the implications for reaping and optimizing demographic dividends from the region huge population size. In order not to deviate from the aim of this paper, four key specific objectives were addressed. The paper extensively reviewed the recent trends in the fertility level in the sub-Saharan Africa; explored the determining factors influencing high fertility prevalence in the sub-Saharan Africa and the future fertility prospect in the region; explored the extent of fertility differentials across the four regions in sub-Saharan Africa and assessed the implications for reaping and optimizing demographic dividends in the region. The history of population growth on the sub-continent over the past sixty-five years (from 1950 to 2015) showed that the patterns of growth during this period has almost remained the same, particularly in the last two decades. The sub-Saharan Africa’s population, which rose from 249.2 million in 1965 to 1.021 billion in 2017 shows that the region population has tripled itself over the past five decades. The region’s high fertility rate was largely attributed to women low literacy status, women early age at marriage, high prevalence rate of unmet need for contraception, economic values placed on minor children, non-adherence to recommended breastfeeding practices and high incidence rate of infant mortality. The sub-Saharan Africa’s rate of natural increase varied across its four regions from 1950/55 to 2010/2015. Except for the Southern Africa, where its rate declined from 3.4 in 1950/55 to 0.98 in 2010/2015, the rates of natural increase have increased significantly across the other three regions during the same period. The rates of natural increase for the Eastern Africa’s Middle Africa’s and Western Africa’s rose from 2.3, 1.9 and 1.7 in 1950/55 to 2.8, 3.0 and 2.8 in 2010/2015. The region huge population is yet to be fully harnessed. The implications for not positively reaping the region huge population are evident in high rates of unemployment, underemployment, poor economic growth and predominance of poverty among the larger proportion of the region’s population.