Ethnic Differences in Contraceptive Use in Sri Lanka

Abstract

In Sri Lanka in 1975, the majority Sinhalese had a much higher use of contraception than either the Sri Lanka Tamils or the Moors. This study uses a national sample of women of childbearing age gathered by the Sri Lanka World Fertility Survey in 1975 to assess four possible reasons for differential contraceptive use: (1) differences in socioeconomic position; (2) cultural differences; (3) minority status; and (4) differential access to family planning services. The first three explanations focus on differences in the demand for contraception while the fourth explanation focuses on differences in the availability of contraceptives. The socioeconomic, cultural, and minority status hypotheses fail to explain the higher contraceptive use among the Sinhalese. The evidence is consistent with the idea that ethnic differences in contraceptive use were largely caused by differential access to family planning services.