State of World Population 2012 - Country Page List - UNFPA

Despite the tendency to consolidate all traditional
methods into a singular category, not
all traditional methods are the same. Several
countries have good histories with non-modern,
traditional methods. For example, withdrawal
is a commonly used among educated couples
in Iran and Turkey and has been widely used
to prevent pregnancy in Sicily and Pakistan
(Cottingham, Germain and Hunt, 2012; Erfani,
2010). The Demographic and Health Surveys
categorize coitus interruptus as a “totally ineffective
folk method,” even though this method is
used extensively in a number of countries and
is about as effective as condoms (Cottingham,
Germain and Hunt, 2012).
five married women. Nearly everywhere, women
are far more likely to undergo the sterilization
procedure than men. In Colombia, for example,
where 78 per cent of women are current contraceptive
users, nearly a third of all women
(31 per cent) have been sterilized, compared
with just two per cent of men (United Nations,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
2011). Since desired fertility declines over time,
couples married at young ages will stop having
children at earlier ages. After reaching their
desired fertility, these younger couples may have
to avoid unintended pregnancy for up to 25
years, making permanent methods attractive
to them.
Female methods of family planning more
widely used than male methods
The ICPD Programme of Action noted as a
“high priority… the development of new methods
for the regulation of fertility for men,” and
called for the involvement of private industry.
It urged countries to take special efforts to
enhance male involvement and responsibility
in family planning (Paragraph 12.14.). Nearly
20 years later, no new male methods have been
widely introduced to the public. With few contraceptive
options for men, men’s use of family
planning has been less than envisioned by the
ICPD. Today, even if all traditional methods
requiring men’s cooperation (rhythm, withdrawal
and others) are counted together with
male condoms, male methods account for about
26 per cent of global contraceptive prevalence
(United Nations, Department of Economic and
Social Affairs, 2011).
Female sterilization rates far outnumber male
rates. Although the decision to permanently end
childbearing can be difficult, sterilization is the
most commonly used family planning method
in the world, relied upon by more than one in
”Although the decision to permanently end childbearing can
be difficult, sterilization is the most commonly used family
planning method in the world, relied upon by more than one
in five married women.”
While female sterilization rates are highest in
Latin and Central America, ranging as high as
47 per cent in the Dominican Republic, only 14
countries in the world have at least 5 per cent
of men who have undergone vasectomy. Male
and female sterilization rates are most similar in
Australia and New Zealand, where about 15 per
cent of both men and women have been sterilized
(United Nations, Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, 2011). Male sterilization
exceeds female sterilization in only a handful
of countries, most notably in Canada and the
United Kingdom, where men are about twice as
likely as women to be sterilized.
One might infer from the mostly developed
countries that vasectomy rates primarily reflect
women’s economic power and rights in these
countries. Nepal is among the few developing
countries where vasectomy rates are above
THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2012
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