Share of women using contraceptives

Contraceptive prevalence, any method is the percentage of married women ages 15-49 who are practicing, or whose sexual partners are practicing, any method of contraception (modern or traditional). Modern methods of contraception include female and male sterilization, oral hormonal pills, the intra-uterine device (IUD), the male condom, injectables, the implant (including Norplant), vaginal barrier methods, the female condom and emergency contraception. Traditional methods of contraception include rhythm (e.g., fertility awareness based methods, periodic abstinence), withdrawal and other traditional methods.

Limitations and exceptions: While the data availability on contraceptive use has increased, in many countries the contraceptive use data are available only for married women.

The time frame used to assess contraceptive prevalence may vary. In many surveys, it is left to the respondent to determine what is meant by “currently using” a method of contraception.

Statistical concept and methodology: Contraceptive prevalence rates are obtained mainly from nationally representative household surveys, including: Demographic and Health Surveys; Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys; Contraceptive Prevalence Surveys; Gender and Generations Survey; Reproductive Health Surveys; and World Fertility Surveys. Additional information was provided by other international survey programs and national surveys.

Married women refer to women who are married (defined in relation to the marriage laws or customs of a country) and to women in a union, which refers to women living with their partner in the same household (also referred to as cohabiting unions, consensual unions, unmarried unions, or “living together”).