How effective are the different contraceptives

No method of contraception is 100% effective. Sometimes contraceptive methods don’t work due to faulty manufacturing, individual biological differences or incorrect use. With this in mind, contraceptives often have two measures of effectiveness: perfect use and typical use. Perfect use refers to the effectiveness of the contraceptive if it is always used correctly. Typical use indicates the effectiveness of the contraceptive, taking into account human error i.e. forgetting a pill, taking a pill at the wrong time, not using a condom correctly, etc.

Here are some of the effectiveness statistics for different contraceptives:

Contraceptive Type	Effectiveness
Contraceptive Implant	Perfect Use: over 99%
Intrauterine System (IUS)	Perfect Use: over 99%
Intrauterine Device (IUD)	Perfect Use: over 99%
Contraceptive Injection	Perfect Use: over 99% Typical Use: approx. 94%
Contraceptive Patch	Perfect Use: over 99% Typical Use: approx. 91%
Vaginal Ring	Perfect Use: over 99% Typical Use: approx. 91%
Combined contraceptive pill	Perfect Use: over 99% Typical Use: approx. 91%
Progestogen-only pill	Perfect Use: over 99% Typical Use: approx. 91%
Male Condoms	Perfect Use: 98% Typical Use: approx. 82%
Female Condoms	Perfect Use: 95% Typical Use: approx. 79%
Withdrawal (pulling-out)	Perfect Use: 96% Typical Use: 78%
Diaphragms & Caps	Perfect Use: 92-96% Typical Use: approx. 71-81%
Natural Family Planning*	Perfect Use: up to 99% Typical Use: approx. 76%
Female Sterilisation	1 in 200 women become pregnant
Male Sterilisation	1 in 2000 men become fertile again

* Natural family planning is where female fertility is monitored over the menstrual cycle. The couple tries to only have sex when fertility is not predicted.