Global Trends in Contraceptive Method Mix and Implications for Meeting the Demand for Family Planning

Ann E. Biddlecom, United Nations Population Division
Vladimira Kantorova, United Nations Population Division

Measuring progress in meeting the demand for family planning requires going beyond overall levels and trends to assess the diversity of contraceptive methods used. We examine changes in contraceptive method mix from 1990 to 2010 for 194 countries and how levels and trends in contraceptive prevalence and unmet need for family planning are associated with the concentration and average use-effectiveness of method mix profiles. We draw on annual Bayesian hierarchical model-based estimates of contraceptive prevalence (any, modern and traditional methods) and unmet need for family planning among married women aged 15-49 and apply method mix distributions from surveys. Modern contraceptive methods account for most of current contraceptive use worldwide, and those methods are responsible for nearly all of the increase in contraceptive use since 1990. For most countries one or two methods account for at least half of total use, yet the particular methods that dominate vary widely.