Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: The INFO Project

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Dr. Jim Shelton's Pearls "Pearl" for the week of September 23, 2005

Balanced Method Mix

While there is no ideal contraceptive method mix, it is a concern that in many countries contraceptive use is dominated by one or two methods. However, one country has a method mix that is remarkably balanced in that the five leading methods (as of 2004) are quite close, as follows:

Oral contraceptive: 15%
Condom: 11.9%
IUD: 11.5%
Female Sterilization: 11.5%
Injection: 10.4%

(Overall, modern method prevalence is 60.5% and total prevalence is 72.8%.)

Can you name the country?

Paraguay.

Reference: Centro Paraguayo de estudios de población CEPEP. Paraguay. Encuesta nacional de demografia Y salud sexual Y reproductiva 2004. Informe final. July 2005. Asunción, Paraguay.

The "Pearls" offer answers to commonly asked questions about family planning. These "Pearls" are prepared by Dr. James D. Shelton, Senior Medical Scientist, Office of Population, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Government or The Johns Hopkins University.