State of World Population 2012 - Country Page List - UNFPA

per cent in Guatemala. Across all countries, the
discontinuation rates for adolescents are about
25 per cent higher than those for older women,
with regional variations (Blanc et al., 2009). In
all countries except Ethiopia, a greater proportion
of adolescents than older women discontinued
method use while still wishing to avoid pregnancy.
The same analysis noted higher rates of
contraceptive failure among young people during
the first year of contraceptive use.
Very few young people are able to explore
their sexuality in healthy environments aligned
with age-appropriate sexuality education and
services that empower them to make informed
decisions about their sexual behaviours and
reproductive health. Family planning programmes
can reflect the belief that young people
are supposed to remain abstinent until marriage.
This sociocultural standard no longer reflects the
diverse realities of young peoples’ sex lives.
Young people explore their sexuality and
negotiate their sex lives influenced by family
members, religious practices, community leaders
and their peers. Male and female adolescents
everywhere are exposed to gendered attitudes
and behaviours that shape their perceptions of
sex, sexuality, and relationships, as well as their
behaviour. The quality and content of the information
young people receive varies widely, and
is strongly influenced by adolescent peer groups
(Kinsman, Nyanzi and Pool, 2000; Jaccard,
Blanton and Dodge, 2005). Where young
people are especially vulnerable to gender-based
violence, adolescent girls in particular are at
increased risk that their first sexual experience
is coerced or forced. Coercion is common in
Disparities in adolescent fertility rates:
Education and household income matter
Age-specific fertility rates (live births per 1,000 girls)
for 15-19 year-olds by income quintile and region
Region
No. of
surveys per
countries in
the region
Regional
average
Poorest
quintile
Richest quintile
Ratio of
fertility rates
Poor-Rich
% children of lower
secondary school age
out of school^
East Asia 4 of 7 42.4 75.6 17.6 4.3 10.0
Central and Eastern
Europe, Central Asia
Latin America,
Caribbean
Middle East,
North Africa
6 of 8 52.7 7.0 31.3 2.3 9.6, 4.9**
9 of 17 95.7 169.5 39.2 4.3 5.5
4 of 6 57.8 68.2 35.1 1.9 19.5
South Asia 4 of 8 107.0 142.0 57.9 2.5 27.3*
Sub-Saharan Africa 29 of 49 129.7 168.1 75.4 2.2 36.8
All country average 56 of 95 103.0 142.5 56.6 2.5 18.3
Source of fertility data: Gwatkin et al 2007.
Source of education data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2010.
^ Includes children approximately ages 11-14, varies by country
* Includes South and West Asia
** Data on education presented separately for these two regions
48 CHAPTER 3: CHALLENGES IN EXTENDING ACCESS TO EVERYONE