School Enrollment and Living Arrangements of Children in Sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract School enrollment has increased in many sub‐Saharan African countries over recent decades, alongside substantial socioeconomic and demographic transitions. However, gains in educational enrollment have not been equal, raising questions about the determinants of access to and variability in school enrollment. The living arrangements of children constitute one possible factor associated with this variability. We leverage 60 census samples, provided by IPUMS International, to analyze links between living arrangements and school enrollment for 24 African countries between 1976 and 2019, and explore how these associations have changed across countries and over time. The results suggest that school enrollment among children aged 7–14 increased in all countries, but variability in enrollment by children's living arrangement persists. Children living in households without both of their parents or without their mother face a disadvantage compared to those in households with both parents. Among recent samples, living in households with a mother only is associated with higher school enrollment in around two‐thirds of countries, even when controlling for individual and household characteristics. The persistent heterogeneity in children's school enrollment across households demands further attention to better understand the links between family and developmental processes, and to inform policies aiming to increase children's school enrollment.