A study conducted in Rwanda shows that family planning is no longer exclusively associated with married couples, as many unmarried women have also started using contraceptive methods to protect themselves from the consequences of unprotected sex.
The 2025 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (RDHS) shows that 54% of unmarried women aged 15–49 use various family planning methods.
Of these, 52% use modern contraceptive methods, while 2% use traditional methods.
This means that one in every two unmarried women uses a method to prevent unintended pregnancy.
Although the use of family planning methods remains higher among married women, the difference between the two groups is not particularly wide.
Among married women aged 15–49, 69% use family planning methods, with 64% using modern methods and 5% using traditional methods.
This shows that family planning in Rwanda is no longer an issue concerning married couples alone, as other sexually active unmarried women are increasingly making decisions to prevent unintended pregnancies.
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Condoms Widely Known
The RDHS 2025 shows that almost all Rwandan women aged 15–49 know at least one method of family planning.
Modern family planning methods are known by 99% of women and men, while traditional methods are known by 94% of women and 89% of men.
The survey shows that women have a higher level of knowledge about family planning than men. The most widely known method is the male condom, with 98% of both women and men saying they know about it.
On the other hand, emergency contraception is the least-known method compared with others, although awareness is still relatively high, with 71% of women and 66% of men knowing about it.
Gaps in Reproductive Health Knowledge
Although knowledge about family planning is very high, the survey shows that there are still gaps in in-depth knowledge about reproductive health.
For example, only 24% of women were able to correctly identify when a woman is most likely to become pregnant during her menstrual cycle. This means that only about one in four women knows exactly when she can become pregnant.
Among women who use fertility-awareness methods, 44% believed that the fertile period occurs after menstruation has ended. This is incorrect.
Family Planning Use by Age Group
Among married women aged 15–19, only 38% use family planning methods, the lowest rate among the different age groups in terms of participation in family planning programmes.
When all women aged 15–49 are considered, regardless of whether they are married or unmarried, girls aged 15–19 also have the lowest rate of family planning use, at just 4.9%.
Among married women aged 20–24, 66.8% use any family planning method, while 65.8% use modern methods.
The highest rate is among married women aged 25–29, with 74.6% using any family planning method and 73.1% using modern methods.
Among women aged 30–34, 72.9% use any family planning method, while 70.3% use modern methods.
Women aged 35–39 have a family planning use rate of 74%, with 68.8% using modern methods.
Among married women aged 40–44, 71.1% use family planning methods, while the rate among those aged 45–49 is 52.6%.
Implants Are the Most Popular Method
Among married women using modern family planning methods, implants are the most popular method in Rwanda.
The survey shows that 34.3% of married women using modern family planning methods use implants, making them the most widely used method in Rwanda.
Injectables rank second, used by 14.3%, followed by contraceptive pills at 6.6%.
Male condoms and intrauterine devices (IUDs) are each used by 2.4% of married women using modern family planning methods.
Among unmarried women, implants are also the most commonly used method, accounting for 25% of family planning users.
Injectables are used by 13.7%, while the use of male condoms is higher in this group than among married women, at 7.5%, compared with 2.4% among married women.
Overall, 2% of women have undergone sterilisation, with the average age of women using this method being 35.
More Than Three Decades of Progress
The latest survey figures come after more than 33 years of Rwanda investing in family planning programmes.
The use of modern family planning methods among married women increased significantly, from 12.9% in 1992 to 64.2% in 2025.
The increase was particularly significant from the 2000s. In 2000, only 5.7% of married women were using modern family planning methods.
By 2005, the figure had risen to 10.3%, before increasing sharply to 45.1% in 2010.
It then reached 47.5% in 2014–2015, continued rising to 58.4% in 2019–2020, and reached 64.2% in 2025.
During the same period, the proportion of married women who wanted to use family planning but were unable to access their preferred method also declined significantly. The unmet need for family planning fell from 38% in 1992 to 9% in 2025.
The Northern Province leads in the use of modern family planning methods among married women, at 72.1%.
It is followed by the Eastern Province at 64%, Southern Province at 63.7%, Kigali City at 61.3%, and Western Province at 61%.
Sources and Access to Family Planning Services
The survey shows that public institutions continue to play the leading role in providing family planning services in Rwanda.
Overall, 91% of users of modern family planning methods obtain them from public health facilities.
Public health centres provide the largest share of these services, serving 67% of users. District and provincial hospitals provide the services to 13%.
Only 6% obtain family planning methods from private health facilities, while 3% obtain them from various other sources.
Public institutions play an especially important role in providing long-acting family planning methods. They provide 99% of implants, 91% of contraceptive injections, 80% of IUDs, and 97% of permanent family planning services for women.
Among users of contraceptive pills, 84% obtain them from public facilities.
For male condoms, however, access patterns are different. Forty percent are obtained from public institutions, 18% from private health facilities, and 42% from various other sources.
Among those obtained elsewhere, shops and bars account for about 40% of condoms obtained outside health facilities.
Popular Family Planning Products
Microgynon and Microlyte pills, as well as Prudence and Love condoms, are the dominant family planning products. Among women using contraceptive pills, 97% use Microgynon or Microlyte.
Among male condom users, 92% use Prudence, Plaisir or Love.
Overall, 3% of women aged 15–49 used emergency contraception during the 12 months preceding the survey, a method used after unprotected sex to prevent an unintended pregnancy.
This method is most commonly used in Kigali City and among women with education beyond secondary school.
The leading reason women discontinue family planning is the desire to have another child, accounting for 32% of discontinuations. Another 28% discontinue because of side effects or health concerns, while 15% stop because they want a method they believe is more effective.
Radio Remains the Main Source of Information
The RDHS 2025 examined various sources through which people receive information about family planning, including radio, television, newspapers, phones, social media, public meetings, health facilities, schools, religious institutions and workplaces.
Among women, radio reaches 57%, while among men it reaches 67%. For women, health facilities are also among the major sources of information, reaching 55%.
Other important sources for women include information received at work, from friends or family, reaching 53%, as well as public meetings or community activities, reaching 47%.
Among men, community discussions and meetings are one of the major sources, reaching 60%.
Social media delivered family planning messages to only 10% of women.
Phones also remain a relatively minor source, reaching 7% of both women and men.
The survey further shows that 20% of women and 14% of men said they had not encountered any family planning messages through any of the eight main channels examined during the 12 months preceding the survey.
