Contraceptive prevalence—generally defined as the proportion of women of reproductive age using a contraceptive method—is one yardstick by which countries evaluate their family planning programs. Prevalence among married women has risen steadily in most developing countries over the past four decades. In developing countries overall, it climbed from 9% in the early 1960s to 60% by the late 1990s.1
Contraceptive preferences and the promotion of different methods vary by region and country; therefore, so does the contraceptive method mix, or the share of use represented by each method. For example, female sterilization is the most widely employed method in developing countries, followed by the IUD, the pill and injectables.2 However, female sterilization is little used in the Near East, North Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa.1 One-third of developing countries have a very skewed method mix, in which a single method accounts for more than half of contraceptive use.3 Mature family planning programs, such as that of Paraguay, have a more balanced distribution of methods.