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Dossier

Vol. 27 No. 2 (2023): The fear of big numbers. Politics and politicisation of African demographic change

Women’s education and higher fertility outcomes in Ghana: an exploratory study

  • Akinyinka Akinyoade
  • Kwamena Sekyi Dickson
Submitted
November 21, 2024
Published
2024-12-10

Abstract

The inverse relationship between female education and fertility is well documented, and 
the statistical strength of this relationship has been used to develop important international 
and national policy documents. Promoting female education is expected to yield a demo
graphic dividend of lower fertility rates, and improved well-being of mothers. But nuances 
to the relationship between education and fertility are beginning to show that desired end 
points are not as straightforward as projected. In this study, we use Ghana Demographic 
and Health Survey data to dig deeper into the gradations of the relationship between female 
education and fertility preferences and dimensions of male influence on couples’ repro
ductive behaviour in Ghana, building up more rigorous evidence for better targeted policy 
interventions.