International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Condoms are now equally as popular a form of contraception among UK women as the pill, it has been reported.

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, sheaths are used by 25 per cent of women under 50, exactly the same as the proportion who use the contraceptive pill.

The findings were based upon a sample of 1,093 women and 1,464 men.

According to the study, 75 per cent of women use contraception, with 90 per cent doing so to prevent pregnancy and 45 per cent primarily to avoid infection.

Natika H Halil, director of information at the Family Planning Association, said it was "encouraging to see" that access to information about contraception appeared to be improving.

She added: "Whilst women are using very safe and reliable methods of contraception such as the condom and the pill, there are 15 methods of contraception available. Women should be able to access all of them in equal measure."

Earlier this month, the United Nations Population Fund reported that women in Zimbabwe are increasingly taking advantage of the female condom to reduce their HIV exposure risks.

Writer Kristin Helmore said the south African nation has made "major inroads" in promoting the use of contraception.