State of World Population 2012 - Country Page List - UNFPA

instances of early sexual initiation: more than
a third of girls in some countries report that
coercion was involved in their early sexual experiences
(World Health Organization, 2012a).
Recent analyses of data on sexual behaviour
among young people in 59 countries found no
universal trend towards sex at younger ages;
trends are complex and vary significantly by
region and marital status (Lloyd, 2005). At the
same time, global trends towards later marriage
have contributed to a diminishing proportion of
young women who report having had sex before
the age of 15 (Lloyd, 2005; Greene and Merrick,
n.d.). Notwithstanding, where child marriage is
especially prevalent—South Asia, and Central,
West, and East Africa—the median age at first
intercourse for women is lower than in Latin
America and the Caribbean, for example. For
young men, age at first intercourse is not linked
to their marital status. These differences between
young peoples’ experiences are most pronounced
in developing countries.
Comparative assessments of adolescent sexual
health between the United States and Europe
find that young people begin to have sex at
similar times, though with rather divergent outcomes.
In the United States, 46 per cent of all
high school age students have had sex (Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).
Despite similar levels of adolescent sexual
activity in several European countries, such as
France, Germany and the Netherlands, sexually
active adolescents are significantly less likely
to experience pregnancy, birth, or abortion.
Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates among teenage
girls in the United States are approximately
three, eight, and two times as high as their
European peers (Advocates for Youth, 2011).
The differences are attributable to European
policies that facilitate easier access to sexual
health information and services for school-aged
girls and boys and that respect young peoples’
rights and support their health: young people
in Europe have greater access to comprehensive
sexuality education and sexual health services,
including family planning; there also tends to
be more open discussion of sexual activity with
parents and in the society more broadly.
Globally, marriage patterns are changing.
Young women and men are marrying later, and
the number of countries where first sexual intercourse
and marriage coincide for those under
t
Just-married
couple, Paris.
©Panos/Martin Roemers
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