Female Education: A Viable Contraceptive Tool for Reducing Fertility in Ghana

Fidelia A. A. Dake, University of Ghana
Henry A. Tagoe, University of Ghana
Mawuli Gyakobo, University of Ghana

There is a paucity of attention on how education affects fertility especially in developing countries where fertility is documented to be stalling. Using two separate indicators of education, this paper estimates the effect of female education on fertility in Ghana controlling for contraceptive usage and other socio-demographic factors among a nationally representative sample of women in their reproductive ages (15-49 years). We argue that each year spent in school by a Ghanaian woman reduces fertility by 23%. Also, every level of education completed reduces fertility significantly while the use of contraceptives rather increases fertility. There was an inverse relationship between women’s wealth and their fertility and urban residency was associated with a 0.17 less births. The results suggest that female education is the single most significant contributing factor to fertility decline. Countries undergoing fertility transition could invest in female education as a means of attaining a reduction in their fertility.