Access to modern contraceptives and self-determined family planning are part of the universal human rights - this is how the EU Commission sees it.
Everyone should be able to choose and have access to the method best suited to their circumstances from the available methods - whether it's the pill, the IUD, the condom, voluntary sterilization or other methods.
The United Nations, the World Health Organization and many foundations and non-governmental organizations also demand this.
However, the reality often looks different.
One of the most comprehensive studies yet of contraceptive use and access worldwide shows that of the 1.2 billion women of childbearing age who were sexually active and not trying to conceive in 2019, 163 million did not have access to contraception.
This means that every seventh woman in this group was unable to realize her wish for self-determined family planning, although the worldwide use of modern contraceptive methods has increased from 28 percent to 48 percent over the past fifty years.
While the requirement was previously only 55 percent covered, this figure has now risen to 79 percent.
The study is part of the "Global Burden of Disease Study", which has been regularly examining the influence of diseases and risk factors on societies for decades.
Over time, a unique picture of the health situation of people and their needs has emerged.
The study is based on 1162 population-based surveys in 204 countries.
The figures determined are estimates.
The results were published in the specialist journal "Lancet".
They show that there are major differences between the individual regions when it comes to access to modern contraceptive methods.
Every second woman who was unable to realize her wish to use contraception in 2019 lived either in sub-Saharan Africa or in South Asia.
Socioeconomic benefits of effective contraception
The greatest unmet needs are among women and adolescents between the ages of 15 and 24 - a total of 43 million, including many young married women.
They are the group that benefits most from effective contraception, because postponing parenthood gives them the opportunity to finish school, pursue education, further education or work.
This is associated with socio-economic benefits that are lifelong, giving women greater independence and gender equality, and reducing the health risks of unwanted pregnancy for both mother and child.
However, the study also shows that many young women and adolescents cannot meet their needs because they lack the right offers.
Younger people prefer condoms and the pill, older people prefer voluntary sterilization.
In many regions there is a lack of a broad mix of methods.
Individual offers dominate there – not infrequently sterilization.
A broader mix could help more people to realize self-determined family planning.
The authors led by Annie Haakenstad from the University of Washington therefore advocate using the data from the study to check the offers in the individual regions for their accuracy.
Do they even meet needs, and where do improvements need to be made?
Globally different methods of contraception
The figures clearly show that the contraceptive methods used vary greatly.
Voluntary sterilization and oral contraception dominate in Latin America and the Caribbean, the pill and condom in high-income countries, and the use of IUDs and condoms in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
In South Asia, half of the women used sterilization for contraception.
In 28 countries, more than half of the women used the same method.
A woman's place of residence and age still have a significant influence on the use of contraceptives.
Modern methods are least available in sub-Saharan Africa, where use in 2019 was 24 percent and demand coverage was 52 percent.
In East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania, two-thirds of women used contraceptives.
90 percent of their needs were covered.
South Sudan brought up the rear in the use of modern contraceptives with four percent - compared to Norway with 89 percent.
In Germany, usage was 65 percent, and 90 percent of demand was covered.
The authors acknowledge that the study has some limitations because several groups with unmet contraceptive needs were not included.
This includes women who hide their sexual activities due to social stigma.
There are also no women who are not sexually active due to a lack of contraception, but would like to be.
Women who are not satisfied with their current contraceptive method and want alternatives were also not recorded.
Also, most of the data comes from women who have had a steady sexual partner.
Women with changing sexual partners were far less represented.
For Annie Haakenstad and her colleagues, the research makes it clear that while the availability of contraceptives has increased enormously, there is still a long way to go
until all women and adolescents will reap the socio-economic benefits of self-determined family planning.
They call for more effort and a more tailored implementation of the existing programs.