Mate Selection and Marital Fertility: The Case of The Yorubas in the Rural Areas

This study demonstrates that marital fertility varies according to mode of mate selection among the Yorubas. Data for the study were obtained from a survey conducted in two rural communities in Osun State, Nigeria. The study reveals that (i) the involvement of family in choice of partner is declining in the rural communities just as it is happening among the Yorubas in the urban areas (ii) the level of marital fertility is still high among the group in spite of the changing attitudes of the people. The study therefore indicates the need to re-orientate the views of people towards achieving a lower fertility in the rural communities through such measures as incentive giving, education and extension of family planning programmes to the rural areas.