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Contributions of the proximate determinants to fertility change in Botswana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Gobopamang Letamo
Gobopamang Letamo
Affiliation:
Department of Demography, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
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Summary

This study uses Bongaarts' model to examine the relative contributions of three proximate determinants (non-marriage, contraceptive use and postpartum infecundability) to fertility change using data from the 1984 and 1988 Botswana Family and Health Surveys. Breast-feeding is shown to be the most important proximate determinant of fertility, followed by contraceptive use, and finally non-marriage, both in 1984 and 1988. However, contraceptive use increased between 1984 and 1988, leading to fertility decline over this period. Marriage is the least important proximate determinant of fertility, probably due to the high prevalence of premarital childbearing. Other factors such as induced abortion could have played a major role in the fertility decline but their effect could not be estimated due to lack of accurate data.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , July 1996 , pp. 325 - 338
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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