Cohort changes and drivers of education-specific union formation patterns in sub-Saharan Africa

Dynamics of Union Dissolution in Sub‐Saharan Africa

“…It is important to note that women in West Africa have social and demographic attributes that are a recipe for a high risk of divorce/separation (see Bertrand‐Dansereau and Clark 2016; Reniers 2003; Takyi 2001 for risk factors of divorce/separation). For example, compared to women in Central, East, and South Africa, women in West Africa are less likely to have secondary education, more likely to marry at a younger age, and more likely to be in polygamous unions (Fenske 2015; Frye and Lopus 2018; John and Nitsche 2021). Thus, the fact that union dissolution is low and has declined more substantially in this region than in Central, East, and South Africa suggests that cultural rather than individual factors are the most dominant force shaping union stability in West Africa.…”

“…Namibia and Rwanda have higher reproductive life expectancies in never-married states than intact first unions. This should be expected given exceptional delays in the timing of first unions in these countries (John and Nitsche 2021). The reproductive life expectancy in a dissolved union state (hereafter "outside marriage" for simple exposition) varies between 1.3 in Burkina Faso and 5.3 years in Malawi.…”

“…For example, the timing of first marriage is relatively earlier in West Africa than in East, Central, and Southern Africa (John and Nitsche 2021), but polygamous unions are more common in West Africa (Fenske 2015). Furthermore, although female education expanded across all SSA regions, early and significant improvements in female education dominated South and East Africa (Frye and Lopus 2018;John and Nitsche 2021). On the other hand, the HIV pandemic hit harder in East and South Africa than in West and Central Africa (Dwyer-Lindgren et al 2019).…”