Determinants of fertility in Kenya: a comparative analysis Of urban - rural areas

Abstract

Fertility is a major determinant of population growth in the world and therefore there is need for effective and efficient population policies in order to reduce fertility. Despite the observed fertlity declines ill Kenya over the years, rural areas still lag behind in the fertility transition us compared 10 urban areas. The high fertility rates pose diverse challenges to the government ill regards to the provision of basic needs and social services such as: health, education. food and employment. This paper examines fertility in Kenya with special attention to urban-rural difference. I he study used data sets from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey of 1998 with demographically enriched information to estimate a reduced form fertility model using Ordinary Least Squares technique.' We found that place of residence matters; women in rural areas have higher fertility rates than their urban counterparts. Educational level for both female and male was found the significant and negatively related 10 fertility in both rural and urban areas. Ethnicity was found an important variable in rural areas and it affects fertility in different .Child survival rate and contraceptive use were also found to exert a significant negative effect on fertility. We conclude that, in order to bridge the gap in urban-rural fertility, it is important for government policy to ensure sustainability of female education, health care, family planing. programs, equitable distribution of resources to improve the living standards of women and hence triggering. a decline in fertility via favorable impacts on perceptions of ideal family size and fertility preference ill both rural and urban areas.