Fertility in Kenya: Patterns and Determinants 1989-2014

Despite significant fertility reduction in the 1980's and 1990's, fertility decline in Kenya has since slowed down, a scenario that has necessitated the need to understand the changes in fertility determinants. This is a temporal examination of fertility in Kenya at the individual woman level, using cross-section data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys for the years 1989, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2014. It is evident that fertility in Kenya is on a declining trend and possibly at the onset of the demographic transition with the most important determinants showing inconsistent patterns in their influence across the years. Policy orientations will therefore depend on a suitable environment that fosters the elimination of factors that are enhancing fertility while also promoting those factors that limit fertility if the primary focus is to reduce fertility rates and vice versa.