The DHS Program

Trends and Differentials in Fertility in Zimbabwe, 1980-1994 (English) 

Document Type

Further Analysis

Publication Topic(s)

Fertility and Fertility Preferences

Country(s)

Zimbabwe

Survey

Zimbabwe DHS, 1994

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Hill, Kenneth and Ravai Marindo. 1997. Trends and Differentials in Fertility in Zimbabwe, 1980-1994: Analysis of the 1988 and 1994 DHS Surveys. DHS Further Analysis Reports No. 19. Calverton, Maryland, USA: Macro International

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Publication Date

October 1997

Publication ID

FA19

Abstract:

Since the publication of the results of the 1988 Demographic Health Survey (DHS), Zimbabwe has been identified of the few countries, along with Botswana and Kenya, in sub-Saharan Africa to have experienced a substantial decline in fertility (Cohen, 1993). Recent results of the 1994 DHS indicate an acceleration of the rate of decline. However, the pace of decline, particularly before 1988, has been questioned (Thomas Muvandi, 1994) a response by Blanc and Rutstein (1994) and further reply by Thomas and Muvandi (1994). The extent to which the decline can be regarded as structural, resulting from change in the education or other composition of the population of reproductive age, rather than dynamic resulting from changes within population groups, has also been questioned (Thomas and Muvandi), 1994). This paper presents the results analysis of the 1994 DHS that was not included in the earlier debate. Conducted in the context of other available data it is intended to clarify the major characteristics of fertility decline in Zimbabwe, Muhawava and Timaeus (1996) reach broadly similar conclusions to those presented in this paper.