Determinants and Consequences of Stalled Fertility Transition in Nigeria

Fertility transition, being a shift from high fertility level to low fertility level, is central towards the achievement of economic and social development in Nigeria. Studies undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa on fertility transition have identified proximate determinants of fertility such as non-marriage, post-partum amenorrhea and contraceptive use as some of the key factors inhibiting fertility which may have caused the stall in the fertility transition process in the continent. This paper employed in-depth review of literature as its methodology for assessing the possible determinants leading to the stall in fertility process in Nigeria. The findings show that the major factors contributing to the stall in fertility transition in Nigeria are socio-cultural and religious factors. The paper, therefore, recommends that the Nigerian government needs to scale up programmes towards addressing these socio-cultural and religious factors in order to facilitate fertility transition in Nigeria.