Human Capital Consequences of Teenage Childbearing in South Africa

Women in South Africa have had fewer children on average since the 1970s but the rate of teenage childbearing in South Africa has remained the same at 54 births per 1000 women ages 15 to 19. Similarly the proportion of women ages 20 to 50 who experienced a birth before age 20 has declined since 1985 but remains historically high. Large numbers of young mothers are a cause for social concern in South Africa and other countries because of the adverse impact of teenage childbearing on the education and health of teen mothers and their children. This research brief highlights the findings from recent studies on teenage childbearing in South Africa in which analysts examined the causal relationships between teen fertility educational attainment and health outcomes in urban and rural regions in South Africa.