A new study by the Guttmacher Institute and UNFPA, the United
Nations Population Fund, finds that the number of women in
developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy but are not
using modern contraception declined only slightly between 2008
and 2012, from 226 to 222 million. However, in the 69 poorest
countries—where 73per cent of all women with unmet need for
modern contraceptives reside—the number actually increased, from
153 to 162 million women. The report, Adding It Up: Costs and
Benefits of Contraceptive Services—Estimates for 2012, finds
that 645 million women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in the
developing world are now using modern contraceptive methods, 42
million more than in 2008. However, about half of the increase
is due to population growth rather than to a higher rate of
contraceptive use. Disturbingly, the increase in the number of
modern contraceptive users between 2008 and 2012, roughly 10
million per year, was much lower than the annual increase
between 2003 and 2008, which was app