Description

The persistent relatively high levels of fertility and population growth in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are considered by many policymakers as a major obstacle towards economic progress on the continent. This neomalthusian interpretation of demographic trends is, however, disputed by some scholars, who insist on the need to examine demographic change within the particular social and anthropological realities of the cultures involved, and also within the political economic context, without focusing on the demographic variable in isolation. While attention is given to some of the ideological perspectives that can influence the interpretation of demographic trends, this paper also presents an analysis of the key demographic trends relating to sub-Saharan Africa, paying particular attention to the case of Kenya. It will seek to explain the relatively high levels of fertility, mortality and population growth in sub-Saharan Africa, despite the many decades of population programmes focusing on raising levels of contraceptive prevalence.