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Unmet need for family planning

Women with unmet need are those who are fecund and sexually active but are not using any method of contraception, and report not wanting any more children or wanting to delay the next child. The concept of unmet need points to the gap between women's reproductive intentions and their contraceptive behaviour. The data presented correspond to estimates and projections based on family planning indicator models, calculated by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2022).

Analysis

The estimate of unmet need for family planning for the region in 2023 shows great diversity among countries: Suriname, Turks and Caicos Islands, Guyana and Haiti have a percentage above 20%, with Haiti having the highest figure of 33.4%. 

On the other hand, 13 countries have an estimated percentage below 10% of women with unmet need for family planning: Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Cuba, Jamaica, Venezuela, El Salvador and Mexico.