A recent report has identified a concerning pattern: while the rates of adolescent fertility worldwide have dropped significantly, there has been a rise in teen births in sub-Saharan Africa. This region’s contribution to global adolescent births has escalated from 12 percent in 1950 to 47 percent in 2020, with projections indicating a further increase to a significant 67 percent by 2035. These findings have been published in the journal Studies in Family Planning.
The disparity is attributed to factors such as limited access to modern contraception, lower levels of education, and prevalent early marriages in the region, according to researchers. Despite progress globally, the number of teen births remains high and is increasing in regions with rapidly expanding populations, thus significantly impacting the overall global trend.
Sub-Saharan Africa has emerged as the region with the highest number of teenage births worldwide, with its share of global teen births climbing over a 70-year period. During this time, the region’s share of the global adolescent population (aged 15 to 19) has grown from 7.5 percent to 19 percent.
The researchers utilized data from various sources, including the World Population Prospects 2022, World Contraceptive Use 2022, World Marriage Data 2019, and World Development Indicator.
In absolute terms, the number of births in Sub-Saharan Africa increased from 4.5 million in 2000 to 6.1 million in 2021, while decreasing in other parts of the world from 13.5 million to 6.7 million in the same period.
The persistently high rates of teenage fertility in sub-Saharan Africa present significant challenges at individual and societal levels. International organizations like the WHO and the UN stress the importance of reducing adolescent childbearing as part of broader initiatives aimed at ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and education.
The authors emphasize the critical need for effective policies to tackle this issue, such as curbing adolescent childbearing, enhancing female education levels, raising the legal and effective age for marriage, and offering free or subsidized modern contraceptives. Without targeted interventions, the increasing number of births to teenage mothers in sub-Saharan Africa could potentially reverse the global progress in reducing adolescent fertility.
The projected growth in the number of births to teenage mothers in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to persist for decades due to the region’s expanding teenage cohorts outweighing the decline in the teenage fertility rate.
The study’s co-authors include Thomas Spoorenberg from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Ellen Øen Carlsen and Martin Flatø from the Center for Fertility and Health in Oslo, Marcin Stonawski from Cracow University of Economics, Poland, and Statistics Denmark, and Vegard Skirbekk from the Centre for Fertility and Health at Columbia Mailman School and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo.
This study received support from the ERC Advanced Grant Project, 101142786 HOMME, the Norwegian Research Council, DIMJOB 296297, and the Norwegian Research Council, CEFH 262700.
