World Contraceptive Use: A Global Compilation of Survey‐Based Estimates on Contraceptive Use by Method, Age, and Marital Status

Every two years, the United Nations publishes World Contraceptive Use, a harmonized data compilation of survey-based estimates of contraceptive use by method, age, and marital status. These data are used by the United Nations for the global monitoring of the progress towards achieving internationally agreed goals, including Sustainable Development Goal 3, and are aimed as a resource for policymakers, advocates, and researchers. The goal of the data compilation is to include estimates of contraceptive use from any nationally representative survey carried out in countries and areas of the world since 1950. As of the 2024 revision, World Contraceptive Use contains 1464 survey estimates from 200 countries or areas between 1950 and 2023. This article describes briefly how the data are compiled and processed, the breadth and scope of their coverage, and presents some examples of how this rich and unique global data source can be used to glean insights about contraceptive use worldwide.