Lagos State, has the lowest number of births in Nigeria at 3.4 children per woman. But while Lagosians are having less children, their counterparts in Katsina are having more.
Katsina State by contrast was the most fertile state in Nigeria having birth rate of 7.3 births per woman.
The information is contained in the 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey key findings launched on Tuesday. The report states that the birth rate in urban areas is much lower than that of rural areas.
The national average is 5.2 births per woman. Akwa Ibom state in Nigeria’s oil rich south-south followed Lagos with a birth rate of 3.6 births per woman followed by Cross River which is 3.7 births per woman.
Other states with high birth rates include Bauchi and Jigawa which have a birth rate of 7.2 and 7.1 respectively. The troubled North-East states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe also have high birth rates at 6.1, 5.2 and 5.9 children per woman. The report states in part,
“Currently, women in Nigeria have an average of 5.3 children. Since 1990, fertility has decreased from 6.0 children per woman to the current level.
“Fertility varies by residence and state. Women in rural areas have an average of 5.9 children compared to 4.5 children among urban women. By state, fertility ranges from 3.4 children per woman in Lagos to 7.3 children per woman in Katsina.
The NDHS report was conducted by the National Population Commission in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Health. Other partners involved in the survey which was launched in Abuja on Tuesday include- the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, World Health Organisation, United States Agency for International Development, Global Fund and UNFPA.