The Politics of Fertility in Africa

Abstract

BY 1989, THE POPULATION OF THE African continent was estimated at 660 million (UNESCO, 1989). This figure represents nearly 10 percent of world population. Considering that Africa occupies about a quarter of world's land area, that is a modest figure. However, Africa's is a rapidly expanding population. The current average annual growth rate of 3 percent is not only highest on globe (United Nations, 1990), but also, according to World Bank (1989: 40), the highest seen anywhere, at any time, in human history.' This pace of population expansion is much greater than average for entire third world (including Africa; Asiaexcluding Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and People's Republic of China; and Latin America), which is slightly more than 2 percent. It also far outstrips annual growth rate of world population, estimated at 1.7 percent for 1990-95 and 0.5 percent rate of expansion for developed societies of Northern hemisphere (UNFPA, 1992). Should current trends continue, Africa's population would double every two decades. Meanwhile with exception of a handful of countries (for example, Botswana, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and Kenya) Africa's economies have been seriously ailing. In 1987, Africa had a total gross domestic product (GDP) of US$135 billion, roughly equivalent of GDP of Belgium, whose population is barely 10 million (World Bank, 1989). The collective external debt of continent exceeds US$300 billion. Averaging 3.4 percent a year since 1961, Africa's aggregate economic growth has been only a fraction above population growth. The effects of this poor economic performance are exacerbated by other problems, including desertification, deforestation, rural-urban migration, infrastructural decay, unsanitary living conditions, and lack of clean water. The quality of life has steadily deteriorated in postcolonial era. Reducing fertility rates would help many countries on continent to advance on path to development; yet, family planning options are limited in much of Africa. In this article, political and cultural constraints