Smaller family size also improves the economic situation of families. Moreover, slower population growth makes it easier for countries to provide education, health care and jobs, and to protect natural resources from further degradation. There is still a great unmet need for family planning. Surveys show that the majority of women in developing countries want to delay or avoid having another child. Yet over 100 million married women of childbearing age who do not want another child right away are not using contraception .
Many women say their last birth was poorly timed or unwanted.
The number of couples in need of family planning is increasing. Although world population growth is slowing, about 78 million people were added in 1999 for a total of 6 billion people. Moreover, because of past population growth, the number of women in their childbearing years in developing countries is growing by about 24 million a year, faster than ever before. Family planning services have to expand rapidly to keep up with both population growth and rising demand . The US has been one of the strongest supporters of international population programs.