Does Increase in Proportion of Educated Women Raise Modern Contraceptive Use in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Jacques B. O. Emina, University of Kinshasa, Department of Population and Development Studies

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the highest fertility worldwide due low modern contraceptive prevalence (MCP). Scholars have emphasized the importance of women’s education in contributing to increase the use of MCP both directly at the individual level and indirectly through the diffusion process. Hopefully, SSA is performing well on most of the education targets. This study uses Demographic and Health Survey’s data from 25 countries to assess the effect of change in proportion of educated women on trends in MCP. Statistics methods include decomposition analyses and fixed effects regression models. Overall MCP has increased in SSA over the study period. Though increase in proportion of women with secondary education is positively associated with change in MCP, the intensity of the effect and sources of changes vary across countries. Therefore, to achieve universal access to family planning, efforts in female education should be associated with economic, cultural and geographical access to MCP.