Malawi 2015-16

Seventy-eight percent of currently married women
age 15-49 in Malawi have a demand for family
planning; 37% want to space births, and 41% want
to limit births. Fifty-nine percent of currently
married women are already using a contraceptive
method either to space or to limit births, and
therefore have their need met. However, 19% of
currently married women have an unmet need for
family planning: 11% want to space or limit (8%)
births but are not currently using contraception
(Table 7.12.1, Figure 7.7). If all married women
who want to space or limit their children were to use
a family planning method, the contraceptive
prevalence rate would increase from 59% to 78%.
Trends: Total demand for family
planning among currently married
women age 15-49 in Malawi has
increased over time, rising from
50% in 1992, to 61% in 2000, 63%
in 2004, 72% in 2010, and 78% in
2015-16 (Figure 7.8). However,
contraceptive use has also increased
over time. As a result, unmet need
for family planning among currently
married women has been declining
over the years, from 37% in 1992 to
19% in 2015-16.
Figure 7.9 Unmet need
by region
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
Figure 7.7 Demand for family planning
Unmet
need for
limiting
8%
Percent distribution of currently married
women age 15-49 by need for family
planning
Unmet
need for
spacing
11%
Met need
for spacing
27%
No need
for family
planning
22%
Met need
for limiting
33%
Figure 7.8 Trends in demand for family planning
Percentage of currently married women age 15-49
50
61
63
30
Met need,
20
traditional
10
methods
Unmet need
0
1992 2000 2004 2010 2015-16
72
78 Total
demand
Met need,
modern
methods
Patterns by background characteristics
• Unmet need for family planning among currently married
women ranges from a low of 16% among women age 45-49 to a high
of 22% among women age 15-19 (Table 7.12.1).
• Married women in the Central region (16%) are less likely to
have an unmet need for family planning than their counterparts in the
Southern (20%) and Northern (23%) regions (Figure 7.9).
98 • Family Planning