E c o n o m i c & S o c i a l A f r s LEVELS AND TRENDS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE AS ASSESSED IN 2002 United Nations ST/ESA/SER.A/239 Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division LEVELS AND TRENDS OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE AS ASSESSED IN 2002 United Nations New York DESA The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and information on which States Members of the United Nations draw to review common problems and take stock of policy options; (ii) it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in United Nations conferences and summits into programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build national capacities. Note The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The designations of “more developed regions” and “less developed regions” are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. The term “country” as used in the text of this publication also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas. Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. This publication has been issued without formal editing. ST/ESA/SER.A/239 ISBN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No. Copyright © United Nations 2006 All rights reserved PREFACE Studies of levels and trends of contraceptive use are carried out periodically by the Population Division of the Department of Social and Economic Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat as part of its effort to provide the international community with up-to-date and scientifically objective information on population and development. Levels and Trends of Contraceptive Use as Assessed in 2002 is the fifth report in the series of assessments of current contraceptive use. The first four reports were prepared in 1983, 1988, 1994 and 19981. The primary objective of the present report is to provide a comprehensive review of contraceptive use around the world. The review is based primarily on data obtained from nationally representative sample surveys. At the time this review was undertaken, contraceptive use data referring to 1980 or more recent years were available for 160 countries, including 125 developing countries and 35 developed countries. In 2002, those countries accounted for 96 per cent of the population of the world. As in the previous assessment of contraceptive use conducted in 1998, this report reviews the extent to which contraception is used around the world, examines the specific methods of contraception that are used, and analyses trends in contraceptive use. Past trends of contraceptive use are estimates based on data collected between the early 1970s and 2000, whereas figures for later years are projections derived by estimating the growth in contraceptive practice that will be needed if fertility is to decline in accordance with United Nations population projections as presented in World Population Prospects: the 2002 Revision2. Two important chapters are new in this review: a chapter analysing contraceptive use dynamics and another one reviewing national policies regarding fertility, contraception and population growth. The latest data on contraceptive use shown in this report has been published in a wall chart entitled World Contraceptive Use 20033. In addition, data are available in digital form. Interested users can purchase a CD- ROM4 containing the available contraceptive prevalence data by country for years starting in the 1980s to the present. Selected output from this report as well as other population information may be accessed on the Population Division’s web site at http://www.unpopulation.org. The Population Division gratefully acknowledges the cooperation of the Council of Health Ministers of Gulf Co-operation Council States, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations regional commissions, ORC Macro and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in providing the great majority of the data that are used in this report. The Population Division also wishes to accord recognition and appreciation to Messrs. John Cleland, Mohamed Ali and Iqbal Shah who prepared a draft of the chapter on contraceptive use dynamics. Responsibility for this publication rests with the Population Division. Comments and suggestions on this report are welcome and may be addressed to the office of Ms. Hania Zlotnik, Director, Population Division/DESA, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA, at telephone (212) 963-3179 or fax (212) 963-2147. This report as well as related publications of the Population Division may be accessed at its website: www.unpopulation.org. 1 Recent Levels and Trends of Contraceptive Use as Assessed in 1983 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.84.XIII.5); Levels and Trends of Contraceptive Use as Assessed in 1988 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.89.XIII.4); Levels and Trends of Contraceptive Use as Assessed in 1994 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.XIII.13); and Levels and Trends of Contraceptive Use as Assessed in 1998 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.01.XIII.4). 2 World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision, vol. I: Comprehensive Tables (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.XIII.6) and vol. II: Sex and Age Distribution of Populations (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.XIII.7). 3 World Contraceptive Use 2003, Wall Chart (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.04.XIII.2). 4 World Contraceptive Use 2003, Datasets in Excel Format (United Nations publication, POP/DB/CP/Rev.2003). iii CONTENTS Page Preface ................................................................................................................................................. iii Explanatory notes ..................................................................................................................................... ix Executive summary: English .................................................................................................................... xi Arabic ..................................................................................................................... xix Chinese ................................................................................................................... xxxiii French ..................................................................................................................... xli Russian ................................................................................................................... xlix Spanish ................................................................................................................... lix Chapter I. Levels of contraceptive use .............................................................................................................. 1 A. Contraceptive prevalence at the world level....................................................................... 3 B. Contraceptive prevalence in Africa .................................................................................... 3 C. Contraceptive prevalence in Asia ...................................................................................... 6 D. Contraceptive prevalence in Latin America and the Caribbean ......................................... 13 E. Contraceptive prevalence in the Least Developed Countries ............................................ 13 F. Contraceptive prevalence in Europe and Northern America ............................................. 14 G. Contraceptive prevalence in Oceania ................................................................................. 15 II. Trends in contraceptive use.............................................................................................................. 17 A. Global and regional trends ............................................................................................... 17 B. Trends in contraceptive prevalence at the country level..................................................... 29 III. Specific contraceptive methods used ............................................................................................... 41 A. Prevalence of use of different contraceptive methods at the world level ........................... 41 B. Prevalence of use of different contraceptive methods by major area and region................ 45 C. Use of specific contraceptive methods................................................................................ 47 D. Number of users of specific methods, by major area and region........................................ 56 IV. Future trends in contraceptive use...................................................................................................