Statizoid

Unmet need for contraception among married women of reproductive age by country

Fertile, married women of reproductive age (ages 15-49) who do not want to become pregnant and are not using contraception.

Countries reporting
58
Highest
38.0%
Haiti
Lowest
5.8%
Nicaragua
Median
15.4%
Years covered
41
1984–2024
Data points
438

What the numbers show

Unmet need for contraception among married women of reproductive age is currently reported for 58 countries. The highest value is 38.0% in Haiti; the lowest is 5.8% in Nicaragua.

The median across all reporting countries is 15.4%, and the mean is 17.2%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 7.

Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 39 fell. The largest increase was in Viet Nam (up 135.0%), and the largest decrease in Nicaragua (down 60.3%).

Unmet need for contraception among married women of reproductive age: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Haiti 38.0% 2017 up 1.9% rising
2 Togo 34.0% 2017 down 8.6% falling
3 Mauritania 31.1% 2021 unchanged rising
4 Chad 30.2% 2019 up 6.7% rising
5 Benin 29.9% 2022 down 8.3% rising
6 Burundi 29.7% 2017 down 8.3% rising
7 Mozambique 26.6% 2023 up 11.3% rising
8 Timor-Leste 25.3% 2016 down 19.7% rising
9 Sierra Leone 24.8% 2019 down 12.7% falling
10 Mali 23.9% 2018 down 13.4% rising
11 Nigeria 23.9% 2021 up 22.9% rising
12 Ghana 23.4% 2022 down 11.4% falling
13 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 23.2% 2016 up 15.4% falling
14 Cameroon 23.0% 2018 down 2.1% flat
15 Mongolia 22.6% 2018 up 56.7% rising
16 Côte d'Ivoire 22.4% 2022 down 17.5% falling
17 Guinea 22.1% 2018 up 0.9% flat
18 Uganda 21.8% 2022 down 36.4% falling
19 Ethiopia 21.2% 2021 down 19.3% falling
20 Niger 21.1% 2023 up 32.1% rising
21 Burkina Faso 21.0% 2022 down 14.2% falling
22 Tanzania, United Republic of 21.0% 2022 down 5.8% falling
23 Nepal 20.8% 2022 down 24.4% falling
24 Zambia 19.7% 2018 down 25.9% falling
25 Senegal 19.1% 2023 down 34.6% falling
26 El Salvador 17.7% 2021 down 3.8% flat
27 Pakistan 17.3% 2018 down 31.3% falling
28 Kazakhstan 15.5% 2018 up 33.4% falling
29 Malawi 15.4% 2020 down 41.1% falling
30 Dominican Republic 15.3% 2019 up 38.2% falling
31 Madagascar 14.6% 2021 down 23.2% falling
32 Kenya 13.9% 2022 down 20.6% falling
32 Guatemala 13.9% 2015 down 49.6% falling
34 Rwanda 13.6% 2020 down 34.6% falling
35 Honduras 12.9% 2019 down 23.4% falling
36 Egypt 12.6% 2014 up 6.8% falling
36 Lesotho 12.6% 2024 down 31.5% falling
38 Armenia 12.5% 2016 down 35.2% falling
39 Philippines 12.4% 2022 down 35.8% falling
40 Paraguay 12.1% 2016 up 83.8% volatile
41 Türkiye 11.6% 2018 up 34.9% falling
42 Cambodia 11.5% 2022 down 32.0% falling
43 Morocco 11.3% 2018 up 3.7% falling
44 Jordan 10.8% 2023 down 7.7% falling
44 Mexico 10.8% 2018 up 10.2% falling
46 Indonesia 10.6% 2017 down 19.1% falling
47 Zimbabwe 10.4% 2015 down 32.9% falling
48 Viet Nam 10.1% 2021 up 135.0% rising
49 Bangladesh 10.0% 2022 down 25.9% falling
50 India 9.4% 2021 down 54.1% falling
51 Thailand 8.9% 2022 up 29.5% falling
52 Peru 8.9% 2023 down 1.1% volatile
53 United States of America 7.2% 2019 up 24.1% rising
54 Ecuador 7.1% 2018 down 3.5% volatile
55 Jamaica 7.0% 2022 down 30.0% falling
55 Colombia 7.0% 2015 down 18.6% falling
57 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 6.6% 2017 down 58.2% falling
58 Nicaragua 5.8% 2012 down 60.3% falling

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Unmet need for contraception among married women of reproductive age by country. Statizoid, drawing on Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and UN Population Division, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://gender.statizoid.com/stat/unmet-need-for-contraception-share-of-married-women-of-reproductive-age/

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About this data

Indicator
Unmet need for contraception among married women of reproductive age
Unit
% of married women ages 15-49
Source
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and UN Population Division, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
58 places, 438 data points, 1984–2024
Last refreshed

Fertile, married women of reproductive age (ages 15-49) who do not want to become pregnant and are not using contraception.