What Explains the Decline in Contraceptive Use Among Selected Indian States in the Past Decade?

Abhishek Kumar , Population Council
Mousumi Gogoi, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

In India, decline in modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) across half of the states during 2005-2015 raised concerns for family planning programs and data quality as well. Unraveling the possible reasons for such decline has important implications. Using data of two most recent rounds of the National Family Health Survey conducted in India during 2005-2016, this paper identifies factors responsible for such decline in mCPR over the inter-survey period, as well quantifies their contribution. Over the past 10 years, mCPR has declined among 17 out of 36 states and union territories. The decline ranged from 2% in Maharashtra to 12% in Karnataka. Moreover, there were 12 states where the decrease is more than 5 percentage points. Among the explained part of the decline, contribution of increased age at marriage and increased education among women were highest. The unexplained part might be associated with adoption of technology in the latest NFHS round.

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 Presented in Session 148. Contraception in Context