Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 - Measure DHS

Childbearing begins early in Zambia. Most women typically become mothers before the age of20, with 60 to 70 percent of women in all age groups having given birth by that age. By age 18, 48percent of women age 45-49 had their first birth, compared with 35 percent of those currently age 20-24.This reduction in the percentage of women giving birth early implies that more young women arepostponing childbearing.4.5 MEDIAN AGE AT FIRST BIRTH BY BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICSTable 4.9 shows median age at first birth by background characteristics. Overall, the median ageat first birth for women age 25-49 in Zambia is 18.7 years. Urban women age 25-49 have a highermedian age at first birth (19.0 years) than their rural counterparts (18.6 years). Across provinces, themedian age at first birth for women age 25-49 ranges from a low of 18.2 years in North-Western to a highof 19.3 years in Lusaka.Women with higher education have a median age at first birth of 20 years, which is 2 years olderthan the median age for women with no education (18.2 years). This indicates that education contributesto postponement of childbearing, thereby decreasing fertility.Table 4.9 Median age at first birth by background characteristicsMedian age at first birth among women 20-49 years, by current age and background characteristics, Zambia2001-2002–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Current age Women WomenBackground –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– age agecharacteristic 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 20-49 25-49–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––ResidenceUrban 20.0 19.5 19.3 18.5 18.4 17.9 19.2 19.0Rural 18.6 18.8 18.6 18.6 18.3 18.4 18.6 18.6ProvinceCentral 18.7 18.8 19.1 18.0 17.7 17.5 18.5 18.4Copperbelt 19.7 19.2 18.5 18.0 18.0 17.4 18.8 18.5Eastern 18.8 19.1 18.9 18.5 18.6 19.8 18.9 18.9Luapula 19.1 19.5 19.1 18.2 (18.2) 17.4 18.8 18.6Lusaka 19.7 19.3 20.0 19.1 18.6 (18.2) 19.4 19.3Northern 19.0 18.8 18.8 18.6 18.8 19.1 18.8 18.8North-Western 18.9 19.0 18.2 17.8 17.6 18.0 18.4 18.2Southern 18.8 18.3 18.4 18.9 18.1 (17.5) 18.4 18.3Western 18.4 19.0 18.7 19.4 18.7 (19.9) 18.9 19.0EducationNo education 18.2 18.5 18.4 18.1 17.8 18.1 18.2 18.2Primary 18.5 18.6 18.5 18.3 18.2 17.8 18.4 18.4Secondary or higher a 20.3 19.9 20.0 19.5 19.7 a 20.0Total 19.1 19.0 18.8 18.5 18.3 18.2 18.8 18.7–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Note: Figures in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases.a Omitted because less than 50 percent of the women had a birth before the beginning of the age group.66 │ Fertility