A new statistics from the East Africa’s demographic and health survey points to something we may all be familiar with through sketches or stories: the longer a girl stays in school, the longer she is likely to delay marriage, and the fewer children she is likely to have.
The conclusion form the survey is simply: In most all African societies, education is the number one factor that will influence when a girl gets married and when she starts having children.
Early marriage and childbirth have been linked to higher maternal mortality, as young mothers are more likely to die during childbirth; and with higher fertility rates, as women who start having children young tend to have many children
Samples Demographic Housing Survey shows that the median age of marriage increases with advances in education —
Kenya
Girls who have no education will get married at about 17.5 years
Girls with at least a secondary education will tie the knot at 22.4 years, almost a five year delay.
Tanzania,
Girls who have never been to school will be married by 17.7 years of age, but
Girls who have a secondary education or higher are likely to postpone marriage till 23.1 years.
