Fertility Transition in South Africa and Its Implications on the Four Major Population Groups

In general there seems to be widespread agreement that fertility began to decline among all major population groups in South Africa prior to the end of apartheid. It occurred at a much faster level for Whites and Asians as compared to Africans and Coloureds. This occurred amidst the impoverishment of millions (especially African women), stark inequalities and the disempowerment of women. Although South Africa has undergone a dramatic political transition in the last decade, many of the distortions and dynamics introduced by apartheid continue to reproduce poverty and perpetuate inequality. The South African population policy (Dept. of Welfare, 1998) argues that the basic demographic factors fertility, migration and mortality are an integral part of poverty prevalence in South Africa. These demographic factors cannot be seen in isolation from social factors such as education, unemployment, poor health and housing quality and their interrelationships with poverty. Thus, on the one hand, poverty persists, while on the other hand, fertility declines. This is in stark contrast to the experience in other parts of subSaharan Africa, where poverty usually goes hand in hand with high fertility. This paper investigates issues around lower fertility, factors contributing to it, its impact on the different population groups as well policies to address its impact.