Trends in Age at Marriage and the Onset of Fertility Transition in sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract

In this chapter the author adopts a comparative approach to examining longterm trends in female age at marriage and fertility in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on continental countries having at least 1 million inhabitants. The author’s database on nuptiality includes over 360 censuses and national surveys conducted in these 39 countries since the 1960s. The author analyzes the association between changes in age at first union and the onset of fertility transition examining whether there is a typical pattern of association followed by most countries in the region.