1. How does a woman’s knowledge and understanding of contraceptive use relate to their financial status?
2. How does the absence of sexual education and reproductive health care impact adolescent pregnancy rates?

Map Overview: Economic Development Correlates with Higher Contraceptive Use

The highest levels of contraceptive prevalence among married women are represented in dark blue on this map, whereas lighter shades indicate lower percentages. Contraceptive’s can be simply understood as methods to prevent pregnancy (Condoms, birth control, family planning, etc).
As the map displays, countries such as: the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Indonesia – all exhibit the highest levels of contraceptive prevalence. This visualization highlights a geographic pattern of contraceptive use, encouraging further exploration for how access to sexual health resources may be influenced by financial income. Notably, developed and wealthy countries such as the U.S. and Japan present the highest prevalence rates, suggesting that economic status may play a key role in shaping women’s knowledge and use of contraception. It is also important to note that this map ranges from 70 to 100 percent indicating that overall the countries represented that have obtainable data all have easy accessibility to contraceptives compared to other countries globally.

Q1: How does women’s knowledge of contraception relate to their financial status?

This bar chart demonstrates that contraceptive prevalence increases as income level also increases. It seems as if low-income countries have the lowest usage of contraceptives, which can point to and bring awareness of potential barriers such as cost, accessibility, and education. Furthermore, high-income countries have the highest usage of contraceptives, which similarly could be a result of education, universal health, and public campaigns.
In the article “Associations between unfulfilled contraceptive preferences due to cost and low-income patients’ access to and experiences of contraceptive care in the United States, 2015–2019”, the authors discuss how low-income women are deterred from receiving their preferred contraceptive method due to high cost and lack of accessibility. In their research, the authors found that “almost one-quarter of contraceptive users and nearly 4 in 10 nonusers of contraception had unfulfilled contraceptive preferences due to cost”(Kavanaugh et al.). This means that although many low-income women in the U.S. have access to contraceptives, they aren’t able to afford contraceptives that align with their preferences. This demonstrates that reproductive health care, even within developed countries, is unequitable based on social divides, such as income and race. This study also demonstrates that another key factor in lack of preferred contraceptives is health insurance. The article states that women with health insurance have higher levels of contraceptive use and access. Having health insurance allows women to have autonomy in the kind of reproductive care they would like to receive based on preference. From this we can see that having access to health care is one way in which women can have more control over their reproductive health. Although this source discusses low-income women in the US, these findings serve as a launching point for exploring reproductive care and access to contraceptives globally and how that impacts women’ s health.

This area chart tracks contraceptive prevalence among women ages 15–49 from 1990 to 2023 across four regions. Europe begins as the continent with the highest contraceptive prevalence (around 78 %) and gradually moderates to the mid-60s by 2023, reflecting a slight downward trend. Asia & Pacific maintain steady in the mid-50 % range, dipping slightly in the early 2000s before stabilizing near 53 %. The Americas rose from roughly 60 % in 1990 to about 75 % by 2023, indicating sustained growth. Africa & Middle East, starting lowest at approximately 15 %, climbed steadily to around 37 %, highlighting an improved access over time to contraceptive methods. Conclusively, Europe and America’s demonstration of high prevalence may be a reflection of further developed health care systems and widespread education regarding reproductive and sexual rights and justice.
In the article “Sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls: Evidence from low- and middle-income countries”, we are able to evaluate the key factors causing the delay in sexual reproductive health for adolescent girls in different countries around the globe. In their study, the authors also claim that countries need to make stronger policy making decisions to advance SRH access. For example, early marriage practices are a relevant factor within regions such as Africa and the Middle East, where we consistently see low contraceptive prevalence. According to the article, 39% of women (ages 20-24) were married before the age of 18 in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors state that “early marriage goes hand in hand with exclusion of girls from the decision on when and whom to marry”(Santhya,Jejeebhoy). From lack of policies in early marriage, young women are immersed into unwanted marriages, most of which they are expected to bear children for their husbands. This is a strong example of why policies in SRH are necessary in order for women across the globe to gain access to resources to support their reproductive health and freedoms.

This treemap displays the average contraceptive prevalence among married women ages 15–49, organized by World Bank income categories. High-income countries like Malta (85.8 %), the United Kingdom (81.9 %), and Korea (80.3 %) exhibit the highest rates, while upper-middle-income nations such as China (85.0 %) and Brazil (79.2 %) follow closely. Lower-middle-income countries range from Vietnam’s 75.6 % down to Morocco’s 58.6 %. Low-income regions show the lowest levels, from 69.2 % in DPR Korea to just 22.9 % in Yemen. The visualization underscores a clear positive relationship between national wealth and contraceptive access. The high prevalence is concentrated in high income areas while low income areas consequently show lower rates. Ultimately, this may again further indicate that access to education and healthcare, which are contingent on socioeconomic standing, impact an individual’s relationship to contraceptive adoption.

From “Adolescent sexual and reproductive health: The global challenges”, Morris and Rushwan discuss the importance of implementing youth-serving health policies. Globally, an adolescent’s sexual reproductive health is strongly tied to their economic, social, and political environment. Teens face a higher risk of maternal death than older women. The authors claim that low socioeconomic status and “likelihood of receiving low and/or inadequate prenatal care are associated with pregnant adolescents”( Morris,Rushwan). Through this, we can see that socioeconomic status is a key factor to investigate within teen pregnancies, as they pose a significant threat to the lives of teen mothers. In order to avoid these issues, countries must seek a better understanding of this age group in order to implement appropriate services. 

Q2: How does the absence of sexual education and reproductive health care impact adolescent pregnancy rates?

The graph above depicts the age variations of women (ages 15-19) , all from differing socioeconomic backgrounds, and their birth rates. The three lines in the graph represent different levels of income: low, low/middle, and high income. The chart reveals the relationship between women with low income and their consistent high adolescent fertility rates.
Economists and demographers have been investigating the long standard trend between income and fertility rates. Possible factors for these correlations include the fact that time is cheap in poor countries allowing more time from work to take care of a baby. Additionally, a child in a more rich country will require more education making it a costly decision. Furthermore, in poorer countries there tends to be a higher child mortality rate meaning that parents may have more children in hopes to have their desired number after a couple years. Lastly, poorer countries are expected to help their parents while in a rich country the social system including financial markets, well paying jobs, and social security system provide an environment for the elderly to continue to live satisfactorily.
It is also interesting to note that despite the large variety in fertility rate amongst the three income level groups all three had a significant downward trend from 1960 to the present. While this chart measures the adolescent fertility rate a similar pattern can be observed from the declining rates of the overall world fertility rate also declining since the 1960s. This rate is observed to be declining because of the empowerment of women regarding education and job availability, declining rates of child mortality, and the increasing cost to up-bring a child.

This bar chart shows average Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) prevalence by country. FGM is a procedure that alters or injures a females genitalia typically with the intention of performing a female version of a circumcision. It has been found that this procedure is a form of violation of human rights as it is harmful and provides no benefit to the woman. FGM is a standard indicator of systemic gender inequality and lack of reproductive rights in a country which consequently results in an increase of early or unplanned pregnancies. With Somalia topping the chart with a very high 99% the practice is deeply integrated in their social norms. It was described that girls without this practice were viewed as unclean and most of the population believed that this practice should continue because they viewed no harm.
It is found that Africa tops the charts in highest percentage of female genital mutilation prevalence. This can be compared to the continent’s lack of contraceptive use and high fertility rates. As demonstrated by the high levels of FGM and the women’s support, it can be inferred that many of the citizens within countries that practice FGM are exposed to false education regarding sexuality. Given these social beliefs this can be further translated to sexual education having an impact on fertility rates.

This bar chart highlights the 20 countries and territories with the lowest adolescent fertility rates amongst women ages 15–19. The global average is 40.4, therefore the displayed countries showcase significantly lower adolescent rates, likely due to the early and accurate implementation of sexual education. Of the 20 counties listed 11 are countries of the continent Europe, 8 of the countries are in Asia, and only 1 is from North America. The frequencies of these countries align closely with the found contraceptive prevalence by continent with Europe, Asia and the Americas following the same pattern. This further supports the finding that accessibility to contraceptives has a strong reflection in the levels of pregnancy amongst teens. With China being at the bottom of the list of adolescent fertility rates – the country having one of the lowest overall lowest pregnancy rates. These low rates can be responsible for the high level of implementation of monitoring of family planning policies. China has also in the past implemented a policy regarding the number of children a family can have starting from one, later increasing to two, and then eventually increasing to three. The countries implemented policies seem to have had a strong impact on fertility rates and furthermore adolescent fertility rates. The Chinese also promote the idea of family planning through the use of posters, handbooks, and other publications.
With Europe dominating this list it is also insightful to investigate the continent’s policies that may be leading to these low fertility rates. According to research it is surprising to find that European countries have such low fertility rates. The continent has all the available resources to promote couples to have a baby including parental leave, substantial tax credits, and free schooling. In opposition to these factors researchers can conclude that have couples may have differing views on whether they should have a baby. It is found that couples in Europe rely mostly on the mother-figure for childcare, prompting women in these roles to not find the idea of having more children enticing, therefore leading to lower birth rates.

Conclusion

As a result of our literature and data visualizations, we can determine that financial status and access to reproductive health education are two significant factors contributing to adolescent fertility rates. It can be deduced that women from high income countries are better positioned and able to take advantage of their accessibility to contraception, sexual education, and health care systems. While in contrast, women in low income regions are faced with barriers such as financial restrictions, lack of qualitative education, and cultural stigmas.

Our data further emphasizes the consequences that are a result of neglecting sexual and reproductive health. The outcome of higher fertility and increased genital mutilation rates can be directly correlated to structural inequalities and lack of adequate public investment in health and education.

Ultimately, providing access to a substantial foundation of qualitative education – and the alleviation of systemic barriers hindering upon accessibility to healthcare, reproductive equity, and autonomy – could contribute to a substantial positive impact on women’s sexual and reproductive health overall.

Improving reproductive heath is an essential act in establishing social equity, a goal that could intrinsically repair poverty rates, health outcomes, and introduce gender equity on a global scale.