CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Fertility levels have declined across the globe, but Africa’s fertility is still above its replacement. Beginning the first phase of the demographic transition in the early 1950s, Sub-Saharan Africa experienced high population growth rate due to high birth rate, but began to experience decreasing fertility in the next phase of the transition in the 1980s (Owoo et al., 2015). This declining fertility according to some scholars was led by crisis which was either economic or political in nature (Agadjanian & Prata, 2002; DeRose et al., 2002; Eloundou-Enyegue et al., 2000). Decades of high fertility (compared to other regions like North America, Europe among others) complemented by increasing survival of children in most developing countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has led to increasing dependency burden through an increase in young population, making economic growth and development agendas through human capital investment a daunting task (Ashford, 1990; Kollehlon, 1989; Shapiro, 2017).

Africa’s youthful population is expected to increase by 40% in 2030, doubling in 2055 from its current level and at same time continue its growth trajectory for the remaining part of this century (Population Devision, 2015). With this, Africa cannot realize much improvement in standards of living of its people (World Bank, 1989). The high demographic pressure resulting from increasing population with a fertility rate of about five children has led to unemployment especially for the youth, food insecurity and pressure on basic social service like education, health, water, electricity among others in the sub-region (Economic Community of West African States, 2012). With the relatively higher youthful population and current fertility rates way above the replacement rate, SSA still needs to control its population (Williams, 2012; Youthpolicy.org, 2010).

Increase usage of contraceptive, higher level education and a decrease in desired fertility have greater potentials of reducing fertility. For instance, according to de Bruijn (2006), research has shown that contraceptive practice is among the five-strong proximate factors in determining the level and differentials of fertility. Also, according to Pritchett (1994), a greater portion of the fertility differential can be explained by desired fertility. Whereas a report by The Africa-America Institute (2015) has shown that there has been an increase in both primary and secondary education across Africa, research by Sharan et al. (2009) and Tsui et al. (2017) have shown that, Africa has since 1995 experienced an increase in the usage of modern contraceptives and for that matter contraceptive usage.

Again, with an increase in the participation of women in the labour market complemented with increased earning opportunities available for women, desired fertility, as measured by the ideal number of children, is expected to decrease (Bhattacharya & Haldar, 2012; Kreyenfeld, 2010; Ortiz-Ospina & Tzvetkova, 2017; Snopkowski et al, 2016; Verick, 2014). Yet the space at which population is declining in SSA is quite alarming. Research has shown that, for a substantial decline in fertility to occur in the region, a significant drop in fertility desires are required (Beatty, 2015). According to Bongaarts (2008), if Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continue with its recent slow pace of fertility transition, the size of SSA’s population may reach 2.02 billion in 2050. According to him, this will have an adverse effect on the economies of SSA in terms of development, food security and resource sustainability.

Knowledge about education-fertility, desired fertility-actual fertility and contraception- fertility relationships will inform policymaker on how to design and implement fertility driven educational policies; on the extent to which family size ideals should be lowered to achieve the desired drop in actual fertility; on the role of contraceptives in reducing fertility. Also, it will inform policymakers about the unmet need for contraception and how best to implement family planning programs.

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