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To measure the prevalence of contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in 17 sub-Saharan Africa countries and identify factors associated with contraceptive use in these countries.

We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using data on contraceptive use from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for 17 sub-Saharan Africa countries (Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda). We restricted our sample to women aged 15–49 years and used generalized estimating equations to identify factors associated with contraceptive use while controlling for other covariates.

The overall prevalence of current contraceptive use among women of reproductive age was only 17%, with rates ranging from 7% in Gambia to 29% in Uganda. After adjusting for …