The population of Botswana is stagnant because women are deliberately delaying giving birth due to different personal reasons. Some want to focus on their careers while others are busy pursuing higher education.
Population statistics released this week suggest that fertility rate is declining, on average, each woman in Botswana is expected to give birth to three children throughout her reproductive life.
However, some women are not interested in having babies and do everything in their power to delay first pregnancy so that they remain childless or wait until they have achieved their goals first.
Statistics Botswana found that even the median age of first child bearing continues to increase probably due to deliberate efforts to delay first pregnancy.
Botswana’s population from the 2022 population and housing census stands at 2, 359, 609 marking an increase of 334 705 since the last census conducted in 2011.
Literacy rates in the country have gone high and what this means is that women are now empowered to make decisions on what they want and this is why the fertility rate has dropped significantly from six births per woman in the 80s to three children per woman in 2022.
There is also availability of different contraceptives ranging from pills and condoms being offered free of charge in all government health facilities meaning that women are able to decide without pressure how many children they want and when.
For those chasing top positions who go on to assume leadership roles in the workplace, they often decide to have babies at late age of 35 and beyond. Giving birth at the later stages of a woman’s life means that chances of them bearing less than the expected average of three children are low.
Another contributing factor is that some women prefer settling down and getting married before bearing more than one child. What then happens is that in the absence of a husband, a woman might give birth to one child then decide that the next child will come only after marriage.
This is how most ladies end up having small families. Statistics further reveal that a larger population remains unmarried in the country and 44.4 percent of households are female headed.
Population statistics released this week suggest that fertility rate is declining, on average, each woman in Botswana is expected to give birth to three children throughout her reproductive life.
However, some women are not interested in having babies and do everything in their power to delay first pregnancy so that they remain childless or wait until they have achieved their goals first.
Statistics Botswana found that even the median age of first child bearing continues to increase probably due to deliberate efforts to delay first pregnancy.
Botswana’s population from the 2022 population and housing census stands at 2, 359, 609 marking an increase of 334 705 since the last census conducted in 2011.
Literacy rates in the country have gone high and what this means is that women are now empowered to make decisions on what they want and this is why the fertility rate has dropped significantly from six births per woman in the 80s to three children per woman in 2022.
There is also availability of different contraceptives ranging from pills and condoms being offered free of charge in all government health facilities meaning that women are able to decide without pressure how many children they want and when.
For those chasing top positions who go on to assume leadership roles in the workplace, they often decide to have babies at late age of 35 and beyond. Giving birth at the later stages of a woman’s life means that chances of them bearing less than the expected average of three children are low.
Another contributing factor is that some women prefer settling down and getting married before bearing more than one child. What then happens is that in the absence of a husband, a woman might give birth to one child then decide that the next child will come only after marriage.
This is how most ladies end up having small families. Statistics further reveal that a larger population remains unmarried in the country and 44.4 percent of households are female headed.
