IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON FERTILITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Much lower levels of fertility in urban than rural areas throughout su b-Saharan Africa imply that fertility decline in the region may be fac ilitated by rapid urbanization and rural-to-urban migration. The prese nt study uses data from Demographic and Health Surveys in six countrie s-Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Uganda-to assess the impact of long-term rural-urban female migration on fertility. Results of logit analyses indicate that in most countries women who leave the countrys ide represent the higher fertility segment of the rural population in the years before migration. Migrants' risk of conception declines dram atically in all countries around the time of migration and remains low er in the long run among most migrant groups than among rural and urba n nonmigrants. Descriptive analyses suggest that the decline in migran t fertility is related to the rapid and pronounced improvement in stan dard of living experienced by migrants after settling in the urban are a and may be due in part to temporary spousal separation.