How effective are condoms in preventing pregnancy?
Studies have shown a low of 13% to a high of 31% failure rate for condoms preventing pregnancy in adults who use condoms correctly 100% of the time. So look at it like this: if 100 couples used condoms to prevent pregnancy, approximately one out of five of those couples will be dealing with an unplanned pregnancy within a year. Since teens don’t use condoms correctly every single time, their chances of pregnancy are even higher. By the way, you are three times more likely to end up with an STD than you are to get pregnant.
High-quality condoms, when used consistently and correctly, provide an excellent barrier against pregnancy. Clinical trials have shown that correct and consistent use of condoms can have between a 95% and 98% contraceptive efficacy rate. The success of any form of contraception depends not only on the method, but also the consistency of use. Please see our Education section for more information on proper condom usage.
For adults, the failure rate is about 14% per year of use. That means every year about 1 in 7 condom users experience an unplanned pregnancy. For persons under the age of 18, condoms were found to have a failure rate of 18% over one year. For unmarried minorities, the condom failure rate is 36% per year, and for unmarried Hispanics, the failure rate is as high as 45% annually. Spermicidal condoms have not been proven more effective than the non-spermicidal type.
