Implications of high adolescent fertility and high population growth in sub-Saharan Africa

Eliya M. Zulu, African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)

There are two types of high fertility countries in Africa, where women have some degree of autonomy but inadequate access to family planning, and others where constraints on women are so severe that investments beyond family planning need to be made. The implications of the 2011 UN Population Division projections for high fertility countries will be demonstrated, along with the impact of child marriage and early childbearing on the demographic future of many of these countries. The new UN projections show that not all the high fertility countries are on an automatic course to reach replacement level fertility. Major socioeconomic and population policy changes are needed if these countries are to slow down their population growth, improve the quality of their human capital, and avoid increasing food insecurity, environmental degradation, and related adverse effects of climate change. The impact of the timing of the demographic transitions will be emphasized.