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. 2025 Aug 25;10:53. doi: 10.1186/s40834-025-00392-1

Table 2.

Percent distribution of modern contraceptive use among sexually active women (15–49 years) by background characteristics, 2016 DHS, South Africa

Background characteristics DHS 2016 (N = 7,041)
Using modern contraception Not using modern contraception
N (%) N (%) p-value
Age 0.000***
15–24 1100 (62.2) 669 (37.8)
25–34 1618 (63.4) 933 (36.6)
35–49 1317 (48.4) 1403 (51.6)
Residence 0.818 ns
Urban 2729 (57.5) 2021 (42.6)
Rural 1307 (57.1) 984 (43.0)
Educational level 0.000***
None 59 (39.2) 91 (60.8)
Primary 316 (50.0) 317 (50.1)
Secondary 3104 (57.9) 2256 (42.1)
Higher 556 (62.0) 341 (38.0)
Marital status 0.000***
Never married 2189 (57.6) 1614 (42.4)
Married 1642 (58.9) 1146 (41.1)
Formally married 205 (45.5) 245 (54.5)
Wealth status 0.594 ns
Poor 1606 (57.4) 1191 (42.6)
Middle 894 (58.7) 630 (41.3)
Rich 1536 (56.5) 1184 (43.5)
Employment status 0.493 ns
Not working 2495 (57.7) 1827 (42.3)
Working 1541 (56.7) 1178 (43.3)
Living children 0.000***
Zero 604 (47.4) 671 (52.7)
One 1162 (57.7) 852 (42.3)
Two – Three 1867 (62.2) 1135 (37.8)
Four or more 402 (53.7) 347 (46.3)
Visited health facility in the last 12 months 0.000***
No 959 (45.1) 1165 (54.9)
Yes 3077 (62.6) 1840 (37.4)
Woman decision-making autonomy 0.026*
No 2586 (56.1) 2023 (43.9)
Yes 1449 (59.6) 982 (40.4)
Ideal number of children 0.000***
Zero 236 (52.7) 212 (47.3)
One – Two 1931 (60.7) 1249 (39.3)
Three – Four 1630 (56.5) 1253 (43.5)
Five or more 239 (45.1) 291 (54.9)
Sensory disability status 0.002**
No 3639 (58.1) 2629 (41.9)
Yes 397 (51.3) 377 (48.7)
Ownership of mobile phone 0.006*
No 240 (50.7) 233 (49.3)
Yes 3796 (57.8) 2772 (42.2)
Exposure to FP Messages 0.101 ns
No 1761 (55.8) 1394 (44.2)
Yes 2275 (58.5) 1611 (41.5)
Total 4036 (57.3) 3005 (42.7)

*** p < 0.001; ** = p < 0.01; * = p < 0.05; ns = non-significant