Need inside marriage. The number of condoms currently used each year to prevent unintended pregnancies within marriage is an estimated 3 billion—12% of the 24 billion condoms needed. This figure is based on the percentage of men in each country who are married, the percentage of married couples currently using condoms as their method of contraception, and frequency of sexual relations among married couples as reported in surveys. The percentage is low because few couples who practice family planning use condoms as their contraceptive method.

Estimating the number of condoms needed by married couples who are not using any contraception but want to avoid pregnancy—that is, those with an unmet need for family planning—would add less than 1% to total need for condoms. This estimate reflects the number of married women of reproductive age with unmet need, the percentage of married contraceptive users now using condoms, and coital frequency within marriage.

Need outside marriage. Most of the need for condoms is among sexually active unmarried men. Their estimated need accounts for 71% of the total number of condoms required—at least 17 billion. This estimate reflects the percentage of unmarried, sexually active men in each country and how often they have sex. It is based upon relatively few surveys and should not be applied to specific countries or even regions.

Need for condoms among married men in extramarital sex is an estimated 3.8 billion, or 16% of the total need. This calculation is based on the average percentage of married men in each country who report having extramarital sex and the number of times they report having sex with an extramarital partner each year. Data on frequency of intercourse among married and unmarried men are scarce, and reported frequency of intercourse may be somewhat exaggerated.

These findings suggest the nature of the condom crisis. Family planning programs usually focus on the contraceptive needs of married women, while much of the need for condoms is to prevent HIV/AIDS and other STIs among unmarried people, particularly youth. Also, married men who have sex partners other than their wives without using condoms put themselves, their wives, and their other partners at risk. These men need to change their unsafe sexual behavior. (For more on reaching men, see Reproductive Health: New Perspectives on Men's Participation, Population Reports, Series J, No. 46, October 1998.)