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This article examines the relationship between female schooling and two behaviors-cumulative fertility and contraceptive use-in fourteen Sub-Saharan African countries where Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) have been conducted since the mid-1980s. Average levels of schooling among women of reproductive age are very low, from less than two years to six. Controlling for background variables, the last years of female primary schooling have a negative relation with fertility in about half the countries, while secondary schooling is associated with substantially lower fertility in all countries. Female schooling has a positive relationship with contraceptive use at all levels. Among ever-married women, husband's schooling exerts a smaller effect than does female schooling on contraceptive use and, in almost all cases, on fertility. Although the results suggest commonalities among these Sub-Saharan countries, they also reveal intriguing international differences in the impact of female schooling, which might reflect differences in the quality of schooling, labor markets, and family planning programs, among others. There is considerable debate in the literature as to whether high fertility and high desired family size in Africa are caused by low levels of economic development that favor large families (see World Bank 1984, 1986), or by unique cultural features (see Caldwell and Caldwell 1987, 1990). Without denying the possibility that cultural traits may contribute to higher demand for children in Africa than in other developing regions, most studies have found differentials in current or total fertility by socioeconomic class, even in high-fertility countries

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