Trends in high rate fertility countries such as Zimbabwe are essential to comprehend as these

countries are increasingly responsible for the largest portion of worldwide population growth.
Furthermore, most high rate fertility countries are also low-income countries, that is, they are
developing countries where a growing and youthful population challenges the public delivery
of basic services such as for education and health. It is in light of these facts that this essay
seeks to look at five causes of high fertility rates in developing countries such as Zimbabwe.
Some of the social factors that can influence fertility rates are: level of education, religion,
use of contraceptive methods, impact of immigration, children as a source of labour (on
family farms), children as support for couples at older ages, female labour force participation,
government programs to encourage or discourage childbearing, age of first birth and divorce
rates. The two words that will be defined are fertility rate and developing country. After the
definition of key terms, the writer will then move to the main discussion and a suitable
conclusion will be provided.

According to United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population

Division (2014), “the General Fertility Rate (GFR) is the number of live births per 1,000
women of child-bearing age (for the purpose of calculating the rate, ‘child-bearing age’ is
taken as ages 15-44, inclusive). On another note, Mhloyi, Feeney and Mlambo (2015),
propound that “Total fertility rate refers to the average number of children that a hypothetical
cohort of women would bear over the course of their reproductive life if they were subject to
the age-specific fertility rates estimated over a given period and were not subject to mortality.
Total fertility is therefore a period measure constructed by summing the age-specific fertility
rates (ASFR) and multiplying by the length of the age groups used”. Therefore, looking at
these two definitions, fertility rate can be viewed as average number of children that a cohort
of women would bear over a course of their reproductive life, that is, the number of live
births per 1000 women of child bearing age which is 15-44 years.

As stated by the United Nations (2017), A developing country (or a low and middle-income
country (LMIC), less developed country, less economically developed country (LEDC),
medium industrialized country or underdeveloped country) is a country with a less developed
industrial base (industries) and a low Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other
countries. This means that a developing country can be termed as a less economically
developed country that is not yet fully industrialised and low Human Development Index as
likened to other countries.
High fertility rates are prevalent in most developing countries like Zimbabwe because of the
need to have surviving spouses in the family. For example, many families reproduce for the
purposes of having more male children who will carry on the family name and traditions.
“High fertility exists, in traditional settings, because of its social and economic benefits, but
persists, once the transition to modernity has begun, often out of social inertia despite
declining benefits. In a traditional setting, high fertility logically accompanies high mortality.
Many births are needed to ensure a sufficient number of surviving children (Bulatao, 2000).
This is in norm in many Zimbabwean families where one mother can be seen giving birth to 5
to 10 children. Usually this occurs when the parents of the children are searching for a
specific gender either male or female. According to Weeks (2003), high fertility in less
developed countries is explained by some theorists as a response to the pressures to have
children created in high mortality societies by the need to replace members. For example, a
couple can give birth to three girls and when they feel they want a boy a child they will keep
on having children till they get enough children who are boys. Even when they keep on
having girls instead of boys while trying for a boy they will keep on trying till they realise
later that they have made so much children.

Another contributing factor towards high fertility rates in developing countries like
Zimbabwe is religion. Many religious beliefs especially in African countries like Zimbabwe
do not believe in the use of family planning methods to prevent pregnancies. For example,
many people in Zimbabwe who follow the apostolic faith religion do not believe in the use of
contraceptive. This means that when they engage in sexual intercourse babies will be made
leading to a great number of children born from one family. This trend in Zimbabwe is
another greater cause of high fertility rates whereby religious followers are found having
large families because they do not use family planning methods. Also, some indigenous
religion followers believe in using traditional methods as their family planning technique
such as the withdrawal method which usually fails and leads to more children being born.
This also means that the fertility rate increases because these religions have a large number of
followers in Zimbabwe and other African countries that are less economically developed.
"Middle Eastern culture, religion and politics tend to encourage large families and, on
average, Middle Eastern women give birth to five children by age 45 (Khayat, 2005)”. Like
in the Middle East, the same thing happens in many developing countries like Zimbabwe
where religion followers encourage each other to have large families leading to high fertility
rates.
The need to have large families to help with free labour is another leading cause of high
fertility rates in developing countries like Zimbabwe. This is due to the fact that most of
Zimbabwean families particularly in rural areas subsist on agricultural activities such farming
and livestock keeping. This compels the need for a family that has no source of income
except through agriculture to seek man power that will work in the fields. Bakilana (2016)
reveals that “a qualitative analysis that explored this question in the Sahel showed that the
role of children in society as future providers for the family is still an important determinant
of family reproduction decisions”. Schultz (2007) explains that the factors that influence
marriage and fertility are the potential earning power of a couple, their material desires and
their socialization experience. This means the poor families in Zimbabwe would like to invest
on their children and thus they will keep on making more children who will help work in the
fields and in turn take care of the parents when they are old. For illustration, a family can
have children frequently so that when they start showing a little muscle they are thrown into
the fields to help with the farming and hence the family produces enough food to survive.
This way such a family can be able to sustain itself because even if the cohorts plan to sustain
themselves through employment it will be difficult because of the high unemployment rates
prevalent in developing countries.

Moving on, early child marriages and early child sexual orientation is another cause of high
fertility rates in developing countries. In many developing countries female children are
forced in early marriages in exchange for resources or financial gain. This usually occurs in
poor families whereby they force their girl children to marry a wealthy older man so that he
can share his wealth with them in the form of bride price and some favours. This means that
when the girl child is forced into marriage and has reached the child bearing age will have
many children than intended in her marriage. For example, when a start to have her first child
at the age of 14 years, it means that when she reaches the age of 35 years she would have
given birth to approximately eleven children assuming they all survive and she gives birth
after every two-year period. Mbacke (2017) explains that one reason for persistent high
fertility can be found in the prevailing high levels of poverty and insecurity which leads to
child marriages in less developed countries. It very sad that nowadays young children are
engaged in sexual intercourse because of the evolving technological world which does not
hide anything from them. When young children who are at the child bearing age get involved
in sexual activities with each other, unwanted pregnancies occur because they do not know
how to use protection when experimenting on sexual matters. This means that this child who
has given birth at a young age will also have many children in a life time leading to a high
fertility rate.

Furthermore, lack of knowledge about family planning and unavailability of family planning
methods in a community leads to high fertility rates in developing countries. Bakilana (2016)
says that “in a survey conducted in The Gambia, nearly 20% of women in a rural region
reported that they did not know where to get contraceptives. Limited access to comprehensive
quality family planning services – appropriate counselling, information, commodities, and
technical capacity to deliver them – hinders uptake of family planning”. Most communities
especially those in rural areas do not have access to quality family planning services such as
condom distribution which leads to people making more children through engaging in
unprotected sexual intercourse. This is because most clinics and health facilities are very far
from people’s homes and hence it becomes difficult for them to access family planning
services like the contraceptive pill or condoms and also these clinics are very far from the
CBDs which makes it challenging for them to get the necessary resources in time. Adding on,
shops for buying condoms are usually very far from most rural homes and many families
cannot afford to buy them now and again which leads to them engaging in unprotected sex
and more babies are made. Many women in remote rural areas in Zimbabwe find it
challenging to access contraceptives as well as appropriate counselling and commodities.
This leads to a high fertility rate in the country because people will frequently be engaged in
unprotected sex.

All in all, high fertility rates are prevalent in many developing countries such as Zimbabwe
due to the aforementioned reasons mentioned in the essay. The writer has revealed that the
need to have large families to help with free labour is another leading cause of high fertility
rates in developing countries like Zimbabwe. Also, high fertility rates are prevalent in most
developing countries like Zimbabwe because of the need to have surviving spouses in the
family which leads to many families having more than five children. Furthermore, lack of
knowledge about family planning and unavailability of family planning methods in a
community as well as religion leads to high fertility rates in developing countries like
Zimbabwe.
References

Bakilana, A. (2016). Why are fertility rates so high in Sub-Saharan Africa? Geneva: World
Economic Forum.

Bulatao, R. A. (2000). Reducing fertility in developing countries: A review of determinants

and policy levers. Washington D.C: The World Bank.

Khayat, A. (2005). “A Problem for Palestine: Gaza's Birthrate Highest in Middle East”
Washington, D.C.

Mbacke, C. (2017). The Persistence of High Fertility in sub‐Saharan Africa: A Comment.

Population and Development Review. Volume 43, Issue S1.

Mhloyi, M., Feeney, G. and Mlambo, P. M. (2015). Nuptiality and Fertility: Thematic
Report. Harare: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat).

Schultz, T. P. (2007). Fertility in Developing Countries. Center Discussion Paper No. 953.
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United Nations (2017). Least Developed Countries list. Retrieved from

https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wpcontent/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.p
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United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014).
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Weeks, R. J. (2000). Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. California:

Wadasworth Publishing Company.