Fertility differentials between formal and informal neighborhoods in Ouagadougou

Clémentine Rossier, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

Although fertility remains high in rural Burkina Faso, the fertility transition is well advanced in urban areas (TFR = 3.4 in Ouagadougou 2010 DHS). Little is known, however, about fertility differentials within cities. African cities are made of formal and informal neighborhoods, the latter being inhabited more often by poor families and women having migrated from rural areas. Using data collected in the Ouagadougou Demographic Surveillance System since 2008, we find large differences between fertility rates in informal (TFR = 3.5 children) and formal (TFR = 1.8 children) neighborhoods. To explain these differences, we investigate several hypotheses: a migration from rural to urban areas effect (higher fertility intentions for women born in rural areas), a higher difficulty in accessing contraception in informal settlements, a postponement in entry into adulthood linked to young women’s higher educational attainment in formal neighborhoods, and a selection of young settling families in informal neighborhoods.