This article examines the role of teenage childbearing in young
women’s transitions to adulthood in
South Africa using nationally-representative panel data from the
National Income Dynamics Study
(NIDS). Teenage fertility is lower in South Africa than most sub-Saha
ran African countries (Figure
1) and has gradually become less common in recent years (Moultr
ie and McGrath 2007; Branson et
al. 2013). However, whereas elsewhere in the African regio
n most teenage mothers are married, in
South Africa they are not.