Trends in fertility preference implementation among selected Eastern African countries

About this activity

Over the last decade, there has been considerable debate among scholars on fertility transition in Africa. Two conclusions emerge: slow pace of decline (. Despite these conclusions, there are also emergent exceptions, such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, Malawi (. Kenyan fertility began to rapidly decline in the 1980s, followed by a stall (1998–2003) and then another phase of decline (2003–2014) recently (. The main reason for focus on these countries is that any fertility change in one country may have implications in the neighboring country, because neighbouring regions share common dynamics, including language and cultural traits that permit shared flow of ideas to eventually spread new models of behavior. We analyze trends in two specific features that scholars have indicated will slow or increase in fertility decline. First, trends in fertility preferences among women and secondly, the extent to which women have been able to implement their fertility preferences during the course of fertilit...