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• Every region has been experiencing declines in levels of childbearing. The greatest declines since the late 1960s have occurred in Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, at the beginning of this century, only the more developed regions have childbearing levels below the replacement level of 2.1, the level required for population to eventually stop growing and stabilize at a given size.• Women in Africa have the highest number of children: on average, about five children each, compared with nearly seven children 30 years ago. • Women in more developed countries have the fewest children, with an average birth rate of 1.6 now compared with 2.4 in the late 1960s. This low level of childbearing, combined with an older population, accounts for population declines in many European countries.
Married Women 15 to 49 Using Modern MethodsPercent
19
40
5158
53
World MoreDevelopedCountries
LessDevelopedCountries
LessDevelopedCountries(excluding
China)
49 LeastDevelopedCountries
Note: More developed regions, according to the United Nations Population Division, include Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North America, and Japan. Less developed regions include Africa, Asia (excluding Japan), and Latin America and the Caribbean; the UN designates 49 countries within these regions as least developed.Source: Population Reference Bureau, 2004 World Population Data Sheet; figure for least developed countries based on PRB calculations.
Current Users Users due to population growth Users due to demand increase
Projected Rise in Number of Contraceptive Users
Married or In Union Women 15 to 49 in Developing Countries Who Use ContraceptionMillions
Source: PRB estimate based on data from the UN’s World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision (medium scenario); the UN’s World Contraceptive Use 2003; and PRB’s 2004 World Population Data Sheet.
Notes on Projected Rise in Number of Contraceptive Users
• The number of contraceptive users is projected to increase more than 40 percent by 2015, due to both population growth and increased demand for family planning.
Notes on Contraceptive Costs, Developing Countries
• Although some developing countries can cover their own contraceptive costs, most lack the foreign exchange and manufacturing capacity to meet their own needs without some assistance from donors.
Notes on Disparities Within Countries in Contraceptive Use
• Recent research highlights the enormous differences in range of demographic variables between the richest and poorest members of society. For example, among the poorest women in Tanzania, only 11 percent use contraception, while 36 percent of the wealthiest do. Family planning programs face ongoing challenges to meet the needs of countries’ poorest citizens.
• Higher levels of contraceptive use are associated with lower levels of childbearing. • In Africa, where a small proportion of married women of childbearing age use contraception (21 percent), on average women have more than five children each.• In contrast, in more developed regions, where a much greater percentage of married women of childbearing age use contraception (58 percent), women have fewer than two children on average.
• High infant mortality may be both a cause and an effect of high levels of childbearing.• In Africa, where infant mortality is high (88 infants die per 1,000 live births), on average women have over five children each.• In contrast, in more developed regions, where infant mortality is low (6 infants die per 1,000 live births), women have fewer than two children on average.
Notes on Infant Mortality and Childbearing, by Region
Abortions as a Share of Pregnancy Outcomes, Estimates for 1999
Note: The percentages are based on a 1996 UN projection of 210 million pregnancies for 1999.Source: Alan Guttmacher Institute, Sharing Responsibility: Women, Society, and Abortion Worldwide, 1999.