Socio- economic factors affecting fertility levels in Eastern Uganda

Abstract

In Uganda fertility rate is still high and population is growing at a rate of 3.2 % per annum. With a TFR of 5.4 children per woman, Uganda is one of the most populous countries in Africa. Fertility is an important component of population dynamics which plays a major role in the size and structure of a given population. Uncontrolled fertility has adversely influenced the socioeconomic, demographic and environmental development of the country. Uganda is one of the most populous countries in Africa, which suffers from direct and indirect population problems. This study was conducted in 2011 UDHS, a total of 943 women in the reproductive age in eastern Uganda. Fertility has been and is a major determinant of population growth in Uganda. The country has witnessed increasing levels of non-marital fertility. The secondary data on the demographic, socio-economic and cultural factors that influenced fertility in the eastern Uganda were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented using: Frequency tables and Percentages. Chi-square test was used to test the proposed hypotheses at a significance level of 0.05. Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between different demographic economic and socio-cultural factors affecting fertility level among women in eastern Uganda. Demographic factors such as: age of respondent and desire for more children were found to significantly have a significant relationship with fertility. Similarly the following socio-economic factors were also found significant. These include: education levels, marital status, place of residence and ethnicity. From the study findings it was recommended that the government should target young children and especially the girls from disadvantaged families and ensure that they get quality education. It should also increase entrepreneurial education and labour market opportunities for the mothers, promote responsive childbearing behavior, provide reproductive / sexual information, engage the media by promoting programmes that discourage non- marital sex and increase public awareness on the consequences of non-marital pregnancies.