Internal Migration, Fertility and Family Planning in Kinshasa

The process by which migration impacts fertility behavior and family planning needs of migrant women in cities is not well understood. This is particularly true in post-conflict settings, which tend to have limited data but patterns of migration that are likely different from non-conflict countries. This paper investigates differences in fertility outcomes and family planning (FP) use between recent migrants and long-term residents in Kinshasa, Africa’s third-largest and fastest growing city. Findings show that migrants have higher unmet need and intention to use than long-term residents, but only slightly, and similar ASFRs. There is no significant difference for current or ever-use of contraception. This still suggests that high rates of migration without increases contraceptive access could contribute to greater increases in unmet need in Kinshasa relative to other areas of the country and that any increases in FP resources might be best spent meeting growing needs in Kinshasa.