Urban Fertility at the Turn of the 21st Century in Zambia: Understanding Fertility amidst De-urbanization

• In Event: 546 - Section on Sociology of Population Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Fertility in Poorer Nations

Abstract

Once a model of African urbanization, Zambia has seen substantial urban decline in the last part of the 20th century, most severely affecting the Copperbelt region. Conditions in urban Zambia are characterized by poverty and high child mortality, suggesting
modernization is not the driver of fertility reduction here. Using data from 1992, 1996, 2001-02 and 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Surveys, this study seeks to examine
the interaction between Zambia’s turn of the 20th century urbanization processes and fertility, and to better understand Zambia’s persistent high fertility through comparison of
proximate determinants of fertility across urban areas and modeling the effect of particular urban residence on fertility. Fertility in Zambia has been stagnant, though urban
fertility has declined from 5.1 to 4.3 between 1992 and 2007, and regional differences suggest differences in decline between regions. Analysis of proximate determinants shows differences between the urban areas.

Author

• Athena Pantazis, University of Washington