Correlation of changing infant and child mortality and fertility in relation to development programmes in selected ECA member states

Abstract

Africa has been associated with rapid population growth because the estimates of population growth rates are more than three percent in a majority of countries in the region. These high rates of population growth are largely caused by persistently high fertility rates which hover around 45 births per 1000 population in most African countries. While mortality has experienced deceleration in many countries, it still remains quite high when compared with other developing countries of South Asia or Latin America. There are therefore very few countries which have infant mortality rates of below 100 in the region. Similarly, estimates of life expectancy at birth are around 50 years for most African countries as compared with more than 60 years for developing countries of Latin America or well over 70 years for Western Europe or the United States.