BENEFITS
Family planning and reproductive health interventions drive multifold returns on investment through educational attainment, labor force participation, and health outcomes
MARCH 2025
Family planning and reproductive health interventions generate cost-effective, multidimensional returns on investment. They save lives, unlock the life-course potential of women and girls, and drive development for current and future generations. Historically, family planning has transformed societies by empowering women and opening doors to opportunities that otherwise would have been inaccessible. As Monica Kerrigan, FP2030 Managing Director for the North America and Europe, emphasized, “We know family planning unlocks ‘a new world of possible’, allowing us to finish our education and become entrepreneurs, farmers, scientists, and much more. Family planning is a societal issue with global impact driving economic growth, gender equality, and development—we are taking family planning from the bedroom to the boardroom.” Indeed, family planning and reproductive health care act as accelerators for the sustainable development goals, advancing progress on multiple SDGs at the individual, community, and global levels. As a cross-sectoral accelerator within universal health care, SRHR intersects with key policy agendas that have been pursued for years, including HIV/AIDS prevention, breast and cervical cancer prevention and control, maternal and newborn health, and nutrition programs. As a result, continued underfunding and under-prioritization of these services already has had, and will continue to have, significant consequences for global well-being in the coming decades.
Family planning and reproductive health services yield health and social returns far beyond the cost of investment
186K
An increase of USD 4.8 per capita in funding for family planning and reproductive health services in LMICs annually could avert 186,000 maternal deaths, 1.7 million newborn deaths, 76 million unintended pregnancies, 26 million unsafe abortions.
Investment in family planning and reproductive health services has clear and well-documented returns, from improved health outcomes to greater educational attainment and labor force participation among women and girls. These returns on investment represent more than improvements in demographic and health statistics; they reflect transformed individual lives, creating opportunities that flow through families and benefit multiple generations. As Andrea Wojnar, UNFPA India Country Representative, noted in an interview with FP Analytics, “The reality is that improved family planning is an intergenerational benefit. It’s not just for that family that year or that decade. It really pays off in the family’s ability to plan and to time how many children they want, if they want children, how many with whom and when.” Demonstrating these intergenerational benefits, a 2020 economic modelling study found that if families, especially low-income ones, could avoid unintended pregnancies, they would likely invest more in each planned child’s education. This increased focus on education would lead to a better-educated population, which in turn could boost capital resources, raise income levels, and reduce income inequality. Using data from Kenya, the study estimated that preventing unintended pregnancies could lead to individuals—both male and female—staying in school an average of 1.1 years longer and could result in a 13 percent rise in income per capita.
FIGURE 2
The Relationship Between Maternal Deaths, Family Planning Indicators, and Income, 2020 and 2023
Countries with high unmet need for family planning tend to have high maternal deaths and low incomes.
Sources: UNICEF (2020 data), UN Population Division (2020 data), World Bank (2023 data)
The impact on women’s and girls’ education and career trajectory is particularly evident. When mothers can choose the timing of their pregnancies, they can invest more in their education and careers. A 2023 study using Swedish data showed that women who experienced unplanned pregnancies earned 20 percent less five years after giving birth and were 20 percent less likely to work in a medium- or high-skilled jobs, compared to those who did not become pregnant. In short, family planning and reproductive health services are key levers for gender equality, contributing to the well-being, education, incomes, and increased agency of women and girls. The cost of inaction, meanwhile, is immense: Barriers to completing 12 years of schooling for girls undermine their quality of life and could cost countries between USD 15 and USD 30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings. The social, economic, and workforce benefits of family planning and reproductive health are clear, strengthening the case for prioritization of these services, particularly by governments and the private sector.
Family planning and reproductive health services and rights drive economic development
The Power
of the Pill
A 2002 landmark study revealed that increased access to contraceptive pills in the United States during the 1970s coincided with a substantial rise in American women’s enrollment in professional programs such as law, medicine, and business.
Given the positive impacts on education, health, and women’s labor force participation and earnings, the estimated returns of family planning and reproductive health economy-wide are in the order of billions to trillions of dollars over time. The Copenhagen Consensus assessment in 2014 estimated that every dollar invested in eliminating unmet need for family planning by 2040 could generate, on average, USD 120 dollars in benefits, with a USD 60 to 100 return coming from income growth. This increased growth is due to improved health and education outcomes, women’s improved labor force participation and earnings, and a demographic dividend due to reduced dependency ratios as more individuals enter the productive workforce. For example, a 2023 simulation focused on India estimated that every rupee spent on family planning could generate up to 628 rupees in total revenue by the year 2061, equivalent to a 600-fold return. However, despite these economic arguments for family planning, under-prioritization and resource constraints continue to hinder the full realization of these benefits. Accelerating progress will require sustained investments in health programs and infrastructure, including primary health care services and a skilled health care workforce equipped with the resources and know-how to help communities overcome unmet family planning and reproductive health needs.
Family planning and reproductive health foster peaceful societies
3:1
Every dollar spent on contraceptive services could decrease spending on maternal, infant, and abortion health care by three dollars, as inadequate birth spacing increases the risk of low birth weights and poor infant nutrition.
In addition to their economic dividends, family planning and reproductive health services are critical to advancing peace and security while, conversely, family planning services and reproductive health care are significantly undermined by armed conflict and political upheaval. For example, over half of all preventable maternal deaths—500 per day—were estimated to occur in humanitarian crises and conflict zones, where family planning and reproductive health services are disrupted. By contrast, in societies where families can plan for the spacing and number of their children, women gain greater opportunities to engage in peacebuilding processes, civic leadership, and community development. This is crucial, because women’s participation and leadership has been shown to increase the likelihood of lasting peace agreements. Hassan Mohtashami, UNFPA Representative in Indonesia, stressed in an interview with FP Analytics, “Sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights are the foundation. They are the prerequisite to achieving the full agenda of gender equality and human rights, which in turn is also a prerequisite for development, peace, and security.”
Family planning and reproductive health strengthen climate change mitigation
Another often-overlooked impact of ensuring family planning and reproductive health lies in its contribution to climate change mitigation. The reduction of unmet need in rights-based family planning and reproductive health has cascading impacts on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As Kathleen Mogelgaard, President and CEO of the Population Institute, observed in an interview with FP Analytics, “We see reproductive autonomy as something that can really help to build resilience at the household level . . . there is a lot of opportunity to integrate family planning into strategies that build climate change resilience.” One analysis estimated that family planning and access to education could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 68.90 gigatons between 2020 and 2050. Using the social cost of carbon of USD 51 per ton, which is an estimate of economic damages from each additional ton of carbon emissions, this 68.9-gigatons reduction translates to USD 3.514 trillion in sustainable development benefits from reduced carbon emissions.
Hence, rights-based, voluntary, high-quality family planning and access to education are one of the most cost-effective ways to meet Paris Agreement goals, but these policy agendas have largely remain siloed. As climate change and climate-related natural disasters also disrupt the delivery of family planning and reproductive health services, climate change risks need to be considered and incorporated in family planning programs. Early reports suggest that global warming has induced stress among pregnant women that has led to complications. Moreover, climate-related extreme weather events can impede access to health facilities, especially in rural areas, meaning that health infrastructure needs to be made climate resilient. In short, the dynamics between family planning and environmental sustainability warrant better understanding, which will require intersectional and cross-sectoral research to inform future policies, investments, and programs.
