Kenyan women are now bearing one child less on average compared to their counterparts 14 years ago, in a shift that is contributing to the declining population growth rate.
The decline has partly been attributed to women postponing first births and extending intervals between births to pursue education and careers.
As the level of education increases, women focus on careers and delay their desire for children, which has seen Kenya’s population growth rate dip to about two percent.
The decline is reflected in the country’s fertility, which fell to 3.4 children per woman in 2022 from 4.6 children in 2008 and 6.7 children in 1989.
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS 2022) report shows that the average number of children a Kenyan woman is bearing has declined with her level of education and wealth.
Secondary education
The average number of children born to women with no education was 6.3 children per woman to 2.8 children per woman for those with more than secondary education.
Women in the highest wealth quintile have 2.7 children on average against 5.3 children for women in the lowest wealth quintile.
Low fertility
The UN's World Population Prospects 2022 shows that low fertility in women across several countries has been due to demands of higher education, high costs of childcare, challenges to work-family balance and caring for ageing parents.
The report shows the mean ideal number of children for women aged 15-49 decreases as educational attainment increases, from 7.3 among women with no education to 3.1 among women with more than secondary education.
The ideal number of children among women with high incomes and assets is 3.2 compared to those in the lowest wealth quintile at 4.9.
The declining population, however, sparks fears of shrinking consumption, production and labour.
Average fertility
In 2021, the average fertility of the world’s population stood at 2.3 births per woman over a lifetime, according to the UN, having fallen from about five births per woman in 1950.
Global fertility is projected to decline further to 2.1 births per woman by 2050.
