Determinants of current contraceptive use and method choice in Mongolia

This study examines the determinants of current contraceptive use and method choice in Mongolia using data from the 1998 Mongolian Reproductive Health Survey and 2000 Mongolian Population and Housing Census. Since 1976, access to modern contraceptives has been liberalized and all restrictions on the use, distribution and import of contraceptives were removed in 1989. There were some increases in the use of modern contraceptives among married women in the 1990s; however, at the start of the twenty-first century the IUD and periodic abstinence remain the most widely used methods. Women with higher levels of education are more likely to be current users of contraception, and if they are current users, they are more likely to choose the IUD and traditional methods. Women living in rural areas have a higher probability of using contraception and are more likely to choose the IUD and traditional methods. Significant variations exist between primary sampling units in current contraceptive use and in the choice of modern methods. Community-level variables were important predictors in reducing variation between primary sampling unit, when other modern methods were compared with traditional methods.