PRB Discuss Online: Is Sub-Saharan Africa an Exception to the Global Trend Toward Smaller Families?
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the "last frontier" of fertility decline. Throughout the developing world (including China), the average number of children per woman has dropped from around six in 1965 to just about three today. But in sub-Saharan Africa, there are many countries in which fertility has fallen little, if at all. Is sub-Saharan Africa likely to follow the fertility declines that characterized Asia and Latin America, or is this region different? Steven Sinding, senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, answered participants' questions on this topic. Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (December 2008)
Download File