Population Action International

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Family Planning and Unwanted Pregnancies

The Reproductive Risk Index scores countries on the contraceptive prevalence—the percentage of women aged 15 to 44 who use a modern or traditional method of contraception. Contraceptive use is highest, at 80 percent or higher, in Italy, China, the United Kingdom and Spain. In some 30 developing countries, contraceptive use exceeds 50 percent. Contraceptive use is lowest in Angola and Afghanistan where less than 10 percent of women use family planning.

Every year nearly 80 million unintended pregnancies occur worldwide, and more than half of these pregnancies end in abortion. An estimated 150 million women in developing countries say they would prefer to plan their families but are not using contraception, and another 350 million women lack access to effective family planning methods.

Reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, can help couples avert high-risk pregnancies, prevent unwanted childbearing and abortion, and avoid diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, that can lead to death, disability, and infertility.

Worldwide, female sterilization is the most common contraceptive method, with 19 percent of couples of reproductive age using it. The next most used methods are the intrauterine device (IUD), used by 13 percent of couples, the contraceptive pill (8 percent), and traditional methods (8 percent). Vasectomy and condoms are the only modern male methods currently available and are the least used, at just 4 percent each worldwide—reflecting a massive disparity between female and male use of contraception. In developing countries, only 2 percent of couples use condoms.