What drives desire for more children among parous women in Nigeria? Findings from a nationally representative sample

Background Previous research has shown that a number of individual characteristics are linked to women's desire for more children. However, few studies have been conducted in developing nations on the community characteristics that drive women’s desire to have more children. This study investigates the individual- and community-level factors associated with women’s desire for more children in Nigeria. Methods Data was extracted from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A weighted sample size of 20,963 childbearing women was analysed. The outcome variable was women’s desire for more children. The explanatory variables were individual-level variables (women’s age, education, marital status, parity, and family planning messages) and community-level variables (community type, community education, poverty, women’s autonomy, contraceptive use, family planning messages and ethnic diversity). The mixed effect multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied using Stata version 16. Results Overall, 66.01% of the women expressed a desire to have additional children. The odds of desire for more children decreased for women aged 40–44 and 45–49 years, those with primary or secondary education, those with multiparity or grand multiparity, those with three or more living children, those whose ideal number of children was one to four, those currently using contraceptives, and those currently working. The odds increased among women whose partners had higher education. Community-level factors reveal that rural residency and a high proportion of poor women in the community increased the odds of desire for more children, whereas residing in communities with a medium or high proportion of educated women decreased these odds. Conclusions Women expressed a fairly high inclination to have additional children. This was driven by a number of individual- and community-level factors. These factors should be targeted in the development of targeted interventions for fertility control in the country. Trial Registration: Not applicable