Trend and Determinants of Completed Fertility in Nigeria: Exploring the Modulating Effects of Education and Women’s Decision-Making Autonomy

Chukwuechefulam K. Imo, Adekunle Ajasin University

Studies on completed fertility are poorly documented in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Nigeria, the ninth country with high fertility and the most populous country in the region. Logistic regression analysis was conducted on the fertility of a nationally representative sample of 6,598 women who are nearing the end of their reproductive life (essentially, age 40-49), using data from the three continuous Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2008, 2013 and 2018. The study investigated the trend and determinants of completed fertility in Nigeria by exploring the modulating effects of education and women’s decision-making autonomy. The findings indicated a high completed fertility which slightly decreased across the survey periods. Women’s education significantly influenced completed fertility and women with high autonomy were likely to have higher completed fertility than those with less autonomy. Thus, the importance of women's education and empowerment towards leveraging Nigeria’s human capital to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.