Publication:
- All 45 countries researched need to do more to increase access to contraception
- France takes top spot, followed by the UK and Belgium – but even the best performers have considerable room for improvement
- Many governments failing to make access to contraception a priority
- Bulgaria and Greece worst performing EU countries
France is the number one country for access to contraception in Europe. It is also the country with the highest birth rate on the continent.
In general, Western Europe has better access to contraception than Eastern Europe. However, one notable exception is Moldova - which sits towards the summit of the ranking (fourth place). European Union countries dominate the top ten places, however there are also six EU member states among the ten worst performing states. Bulgaria and Greece are close to the very bottom of the placing, only Russia does worse. Eleven countries had a very good or excellent government supported website with information on the various types of contraception, where to get it, and whether it is reimbursed.
While many other countries have websites run by pharmaceutical companies or NGOs, six countries had no website of any kind providing information on contraceptives (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece and Russia). Some of these same countries have a very low contraceptive use rate, a high rate of abortion and a prevalence of myths about contraception.
Twenty-Five countries do not provide any type of reimbursement for contraception. One country, Slovakia, has a law explicitly forbidding any kind of reimbursement for contraception. Of the countries that do reimburse, the level of reimbursement varies greatly.
Turkey provides certain contraceptive supplies free of charge at public health centers, but only to married women.
Emergency contraception (also known as the ‘morning after pill’) is legal in all of the 45 countries surveyed. However, in three countries (Albania, Hungary, Russia) a prescription is still required to obtain Emergency Contraception.