Contraceptive use — all countries

Contraceptive use — Costa Rica

Contraceptive use in Costa Rica in 2018 — 70.9%. Ranked 6 in the world out of 40. Since 1976, the indicator has risen by 6.5 pp.

2018 70.9% −6.9 pp vs 2015
World rank 6of 40
Period maximum 82.1%2010
Period minimum 63.5%1978

Trend over time

1976–2018 · % of women aged 15–49

Contraceptive use — Costa Rica, 1976–20186065707580851976198119861991199620012006201120161976: 64.4%1978: 63.5%1981: 65.2%1986: 69%1993: 75%1999: 80%2010: 82.1%2011: 76.2%2015: 77.8%2018: 70.9%
Change over the period: +6.5 pp Annual average: 0.15 pp
Contraceptive use — Costa Rica, by year Costa Rica All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2018 70.9
2015 77.8
2011 76.2 −5.9 pp
2010 82.1
1999 80
1993 75
1986 69
1981 65.2
1978 63.5
1976 64.4

Central America, 2018

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

MX Mexico 73.1 CR Costa Rica 70.9

About the indicator

The share of women aged 15–49 who are married or in a union and use any method of contraception. The indicator explains fertility better than income or education taken separately: in most countries the fall in fertility followed the rise of this share rather than the other way around. All methods are counted, including traditional ones, so the value is higher than the share using modern means.

Important: Only women in a marriage or a union — unmarried women are not in the denominator, and in countries where marriage comes late this noticeably changes the picture. The data come from household surveys, and the years are intermittent.

Source: World Population Prospects (UN), license CC BY 3.0 IGO.