Contraceptive prevalence, any methods (% of women ages 15-49) - Country Ranking - North America

Definition: Contraceptive prevalence rate is the percentage of women who are practicing, or whose sexual partners are practicing, any form of contraception. It is usually measured for women ages 15-49 who are married or in union.

Source: UNICEF's State of the World's Children and Childinfo, United Nations Population Division's World Contraceptive Use, household surveys including Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

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Development Relevance: Reproductive health is a state of physical and mental well-being in relation to the reproductive system and its functions and processes. Means of achieving reproductive health include education and services during pregnancy and childbirth, safe and effective contraception, and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death and disability among women of reproductive age in developing countries.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Contraceptive prevalence reflects all methods - ineffective traditional methods as well as highly effective modern methods. Contraceptive prevalence rates are obtained mainly from household surveys, including Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and contraceptive prevalence surveys. Unmarried women are often excluded from such surveys, which may bias the estimates.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Contraceptive prevalence amongst women of reproductive age is an indicator of women's empowerment and is related to maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and gender equality.