Determinants of Rural–Urban Differentials in Under-Five Child Mortality in Ethiopia

Abstract

This paper examines the factors behind the rural–urban differentials in under‑five child mortality in Ethiopia. It employs Fairlie's decomposition technique to analyse data from three Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys conducted by the Central Statistics Agency in 2005, 2011 and 2016. The findings indicate that the child's birth weight, mother’s maternal education, household size, and mother’s exposure to mass media contribute to narrowing the disparity in child mortality rate. On the other hand, antenatal healthcare services and share of women's use of modern contraceptives contribute to widening the rural–urban variations. Hence, we suggest that substantial efforts to do away with rural–urban differentials in under‑five child mortality must focus more on child's birth size disparity and women's education across different population subgroups of the country.