Impact of migration on fertility in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Much lower levels of fertility in urban than rural areas throughout sub-Saharan Africa imply that fertility decline in the region may be facilitated by rapid urbanization and rural-to-urban migration. The present study uses data from Demographic and Health Surveys in six countries--Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Uganda--to assess the impact of long-term rural-urban female migration on fertility. Results of logit analyses indicate that in most countries women who leave the countryside represent the higher fertility segment of the rural population in the years before migration. Migrants' risk of conception declines dramatically in all countries around the time of migration and remains lower in the long run among most migrant groups than among rural and urban nonmigrants. Descriptive analyses suggest that the decline in migrant fertility is related to the rapid and pronounced improvement in standard of living experienced by migrants after settling in the urban area and may be due in part to temporary spousal separation.

PIP: The results of the multivariate analysis of fertility differentials among migrant women in urban areas, among rural population, and among urban population indicate that migrant women have higher fertility in rural areas one year before migration than rural nonmigrating women. Urban migrants have fertility two times as high as rural population in Ghana, Mali, and Senegal and almost three times as high in Uganda. Fertility one year before migration was also higher than among urban native populations in Ghana and Senegal. Fertility decreased after migration to urban areas, except in Togo and particularly in Ghana and Kenya, where fertility declined to about 33% less than rural population. The lower fertility among migrants was suggested as due to greater contraceptive use, spousal separation, and older ages of children. Migrant fertility was similar to urban native fertility after the move in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Senegal. After living two years in urban areas, fertility was lower than urban native fertility in Togo and Uganda. Slight increases in fertility were found among urban-urban migrants in Ghana, Kenya, and Togo. There was about a 24% to 49% lower risk of conception among rural-urban migrants after two years compared to rural natives in several countries. The suggestion was that women were affected by structural features of urban living such as housing or by changes in preferences due to exposure to groups or institutions preferring lower fertility. Older age, higher parity, a surviving child born at the beginning of the migration interval, and schooling decreased risk of conception. Age at higher parities limited family size. Data was obtained from Demographic and Health Surveys.