UNITED NATIONS POPULATION DIVISION ISSUES STUDY ON LEVELS AND TRENDS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE AS ASSESSED IN 1994

6 March 1997

Press Release
DEV/2136
POP/644

UNITED NATIONS POPULATION DIVISION ISSUES STUDY ON LEVELS AND TRENDS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE AS ASSESSED IN 1994

19970306 Six-fold Increase in Contraceptive Use In Developing Regions between 1960s and Early 1990s, Study Finds

NEW YORK, 6 March (DESIPA) -- The Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA) has issued the third global monitoring report on contraceptive use, entitled Levels and Trends of Contraceptive Use as Assessed in 1994, covering 119 countries and areas and about 90 per cent of the population of the world.

In addition to its effect on fertility, contraceptive use contributes positively towards family well-being in general, and reproductive health in particular. Thus, monitoring of contraceptive use worldwide is regarded as an important ongoing activity of the Division. The special features of the new report are the estimates of unmet need for family planning, the extent of availability of modern contraceptives in the developing countries and the projected growth in the number of contraceptive users to the year 2015 -- in order to achieve the medium-variant fertility projection of the United Nations.

Among the major findings of the study are that it is estimated that 57 per cent of couples in which the wife is of reproductive age were using some form of contraception at around 1990 and by 1994 that level has probably reached 60 per cent. In the less developed regions the average level of use was 53 per cent, while that of the more developed regions was 72 per cent. The level of current use varied greatly among the less developed regions, from an estimated 18 per cent of couples using contraception in Africa, and only 12 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, to 79 per cent in eastern Asia. In developed countries, levels of use are always above 50 per cent and in most cases range between 70 and 80 per cent. Contraceptive prevalence or level of contraceptive use grew by nearly six-fold in developing regions, from 9 per cent to 53 per cent, during the period mid-1960s to 1990.

The most widely used methods are those used by women: female sterilization, accounting for 30 per cent of contraceptive use worldwide; intra-uterine devices (IUDs), 21 per cent; and oral pills, 14 per cent. The main male methods, condom and vasectomy, account for 9 and 8 per cent of contraceptive use, respectively. In most countries, modern contraceptive methods account for nearly all the recent increase in the overall level of contraceptive use.

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Contraceptive prevalence is strongly associated with national levels of fertility. It is widely accepted that contraceptive prevalence is the single- most determinant of recent fertility declines in most countries. If fertility declines are to occur, as indicated in the United Nations medium-variant projections, it is estimated that, by 2015, contraceptive prevalence will need to be above 65 per cent in all regions but Africa, ranging from 47 per cent in Africa to 81 per cent in eastern Asia. For Africa, this implies a considerable acceleration of increase in contraceptive use, while for Asia, excluding eastern Asia, the projected pace of increase is in line with that observed in the past.

Declines in the number of children desired will be needed to sustain rising contraceptive prevalence over the longer term, especially in Africa. However, there is evidence to show that the conditions conducive to those changes are already in place. The immediate obstacles to increases in contraceptive practice in Africa may be more in the difficulty of providing adequate family planning information and services than in the lack of demand due to traditionally supported desires for large families.

A new feature of the present report is the inclusion, where possible, of contraceptive use for all women of reproductive age and for married women:

-- For the world as a whole, approximately two thirds of women of reproductive age (15-49) are currently married or in a consensual union;

-- Rising age at marriage and a declining pace of re-marriage following divorce are contributing to increased time adult women spend outside marriage;

-- In the developed countries and in sub-Saharan African countries, women that are not in a union make about one fourth of all contraceptive users, on average, and in Latin America nearly 10 per cent; and

-- In some regions an exclusive focus on the contraceptive practices of married women ignores a sizeable population of unmarried women in need of family planning services which is likely to increase as the numbers of married women decline.

In addition, the study found, although access to services remain limited in many countries, there has been substantial improvement in service availability. According to an estimate, in 1989 at least half of the population had "ready and easy" access to one or more contraceptive methods in 60 per cent of developing countries, as compared with only 39 per cent in 1982.

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