Of the many causes of high fertility, unmet needs for family planning methods
remain at forefront. In Nigeria, current contraceptive prevalence rate is
approximately 10% and about one in every five women have unmet need for
contraception. This study will examine socio economic and demographic
characteristics of currently married women and explore how it contributes to
differentials in unmet need across the regions of the country. A crosssectional
secondary data of the NDHS, 2013 was used in the study. Data of
women who are currently married was extracted for the study. Data was
analysed at both univariate and bivariate levels using STATA 14. Within age
groups, the analysis showed women aged 25-29 years had the highest unmet
need for modern contraception while unmet need to space and to limit was
found highest among women who had their first birth before age 24.
Findings showed different background factors of women such as level of
education, religion, residence, household wealth, age at first and CEB
significantly contribute to differentials in unmet need for modern
contraception either to limit or to space births. The study hereby concludes
by advocating the integration of family planning services into communities to
increase accessibility to and availability of modern contraceptives.