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.