Trends and Determinants of Contraceptive Practice in Egypt, 1988-2005

This paper examine the trends and differentials in contraceptive use in Egypt using data from the 1988, 1995, 2000 and 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Surveys. The contraceptive practice rate has increased from 30.3 percent in 1984 to 59.2 percent in 2005. This represents a relative increase of 95.4 percent. In 1984, 19.2 percent of rural women, compared with 45.1 percent of urban women, were using contraception. However, by 2005, the proportion of women using contraception has increased significantly in rural areas, 56.8 percent compared with 62.6 percent in urban areas. From 1984 to 2005, the relative increase of contraceptive use for rural women was 195.8 percent compared with 38.8 percent for urban women. The difference in contraceptive use in rural and urban areas in Egypt was less in 2005 compared with 1984 and 1988. In sum, the overall convergence in contraceptive use is evident among rural and urban women in Egypt. An analytical model composed of socioeconomic development, status of women, and family planning variables is tested using logistic regression. Decomposition analysis suggests that the shift in population structure favored increased contraceptive use in Egypt.