Shapiro, David (Pennsylvania State U) Tambashe, B. Oleko (Tulane U)
Abstract
In this paper we examine and discuss estimates of fertility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Currently, the United Nations estimates that the country's total fertility rate is 6.7, and national sources provide an even higher estimate of 7.3. However, our assessment of the data suggests that these figures are too high. In the second part of the paper, we discuss our best estimate of fertility in the country and highlight the factors that are likely to support this estimate. These include mortality, women's education, socioeconomic development, civil war, and economic crisis. Overall, we conclude that the total fertility rate for the country as a whole is probably in the neighborhood of 5.5, and that the DRC has most likely embarked on the fertility transition that is emerging across much of sub-Saharan Africa.
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Pennsylvania State University, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number
7-01-1.