Studies on youth use

There is little published research on how much young Egyptians really understand or use contraception, since unmarried people are not supposed to be having sex in the first place. Given Egypt’s history of population campaigns, youth have certainly heard about family planning, but probing the nitty-gritty of their knowledge, and how they might be applying it, is a sensitive matter. One place such delicate questions have been asked is Lebanon. In a 2005 survey of just over 1,400 mainly unmarried university students in Lebanon, the majority had heard about the leading modern methods of contraception, although their knowledge of proper use was a little sketchy. While less than 10% of the women surveyed admitted to having had full vaginal intercourse, only a quarter used any form of contraception, including the Pill.