Decomposing the Effect of Women Educational Status on Fertility Across the Six Geo-political Zones in Nigeria: 2003-2018

Abstract

Background: High level of fertility has been consistently reported in Nigeria. Women education is often identified as one of the important factors that have contributed to reduction in fertility across countries. It is essential to identify the factors that explain the fertility variation in educational status and know the extent of association of these factors across the regions in Nigeria. Thus, this study aimed to examine the fertility differentials among uneducated and educated women in Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional population-based design which involved secondary data analyses of the weighted sample of 2003 (n1=7620), 2008 (n2=33385), 2013 (n3=38948) and 2018 (n4=41821) Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data sets was used. Fertility was measured from information on the full births history of women aged 15-49 years. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was used to identify factors that explain fertility differentials among educated and not educate women (α=0.05).Result: Total fertility rate estimate was higher among uneducated women (6.7) than educated women (4.5) in 2018. The pattern was similar across the regions and survey periods. The mean children ever born among women aged 45-49 years was significantly higher among the uneducated than educated women in each of the survey year. Maternal age at first marriage, wealth index and age at first birth were contributory factors to the dissimilarities found in fertility between the educated and uneducated women. Risk difference (RD) of high fertility between uneducated-educated women was highest in South-East (RD=56.9; 95%CI=49.1-64.8) and least in North-East (RD=15.0; 95%CI=9.9-20.1).Conclusion: The fertility level in Nigeria was high but more prominent among the uneducated than educated. Improving the level of educational enrolment of women of reproductive age will facilitate reduction in the fertility rate in Nigeria.