Contraceptive use — all countries

Contraceptive use — Southern Africa

Contraceptive use in Southern Africa in 2007 — 59.6%. Since 2000, the indicator has risen by 22.3 pp.

2007 59.6% +22.3 pp vs 2000
World rank
Period maximum 59.6%2007
Period minimum 37.3%2000

Trend over time

2000–2007 · % of women aged 15–49

Contraceptive use — Southern Africa, 2000–200730405060200020012002200320042005200620072000: 37.3%2007: 59.6%
Change over the period: +22.3 pp Annual average: 3.19 pp
Contraceptive use — Southern Africa, by year Southern Africa All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2007 59.6
2000 37.3

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.