ABSTRACT
Sri Lanka is a developing country with low per capita income, where fertility has declined considerably in recent years. This chapter focuses on the use of traditional contraceptive methods in Sri Lanka. It investigates the levels and trends of traditional method use, the contribution of traditional methods to the fertility decline, the reasons for the continued widespread use of traditional methods, and the socio-demographic factors that have influenced traditional method use. The data come from the Sri Lanka Fertility Survey (SLFS) of 1975, Sri Lanka’s contribution to the World Fertility Survey; the Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (CPS) of 1982; contraceptive knowledge, attitude, and practice and fertility surveys conducted in the mid-1960s and early 1970s; and a recent evaluation of family planning. The SLFS and the CPS were designed to be nationally representative and used very similar methods of sample selection and data collection.
