What are the most widely used contraceptive methods across the world?
Across the world, in 2021, of the 1.9 billion women of reproductive age (15-49 years), nearly half (966 million women or their partners) are contraceptive users: 874 million use modern methods of contraception and 92 million use traditional methods. Half of women use no contraception, and of them 83% do so by choice. It is important to specify that when women do not use a contraceptive method this may be because their need for contraception has not been met or because contraception is not useful to them (no sexual activity, sterility, trying to conceive); the latter situation is much more frequent than women needing effective methods to control their fertility and not having access to them.
The most commonly used contraceptive methods in 2020, in descending order, are female sterilization (22.9% of women using a contraceptive method), the male condom (21.8%), the IUD (1.8%), the pill (15.7%), injections and implants (10.1%), and finally traditional methods (9% - withdrawal, calendar method, and other traditional methods). A distinction is made between so-called permanent and long-acting contraceptive methods (sterilization, IUD, implants) and more occasional methods (pill, condom, hormonal injection).
The methods used by married women (or women in unions) are different from those used by unmarried women
Of contraceptive users, 820 million are married or in a union. These users mostly use permanent methods of contraception (48% of contraceptive methods used by married or partnered women), sterilization, primarily female (25%) and the IUD (19%).
Of the 146 million users who are unmarried women, only 20% use permanent methods (most users of these methods are formerly married women), with the most commonly used methods being the male condom (37%) and the pill (25%).