The interplay between remarriage and fertility is among the most poorly documented subjects in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), despite remarriage being one of the fundamental aspects of marriage dynamics in this region. We use Demographic and Health Survey data from 34 countries in SSA to document the association between remarriage and fertility during the reproductive years and over the fertility transition. The findings show that in 29 countries, remarried women end up having fewer children than women in intact unions, despite attaining similar or higher levels of fertility at early reproductive ages. However, remarriage is found to have a positive effect on fertility in Sierra Leone. The effects of remarriage on fertility diminish as fertility declines, with smaller effects generally observed in countries that are relatively advanced in their fertility transition and larger effects found elsewhere. These findings shed light on the role that remarriage might play in country-level fertility declines.

尽管再婚是该地区婚姻动态的基本方面之一，但再婚与生育之间的相互作用是撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）记录最差的主题之一。我们使用来自 SSA 的 34 个国家的人口和健康调查数据来记录再婚与生育年龄和生育过渡期间的关系。研究结果表明，在 29 个国家，再婚妇女最终生育的孩子少于婚姻完整的妇女，尽管在育龄早期获得了相似或更高的生育率。然而，再婚被发现对塞拉利昂的生育率有积极影响。再婚对生育率的影响会随着生育率的下降而减弱，在生育率转变相对较早的国家通常观察到较小的影响，而在其他地方发现的影响较大。这些发现揭示了再婚可能在国家一级生育率下降中发挥的作用。