Sterilization operations in Australia.

The proportion of males and females in Australia having privately performed sterilization operations has been estimated from 1976 operation rates for each age group and for each State. These figures indicate that 60% of Australian couples (maximum: 74% in Western Australia; minimum: 53% in Victoria) will choose this form of birth control during their fertile lifetime. A general practitioner survey in March, 1978, indicated this proportion would be an underestimate. If this rate of sterilization continues, we will challenge the United States as the country with the highest prevalence of sterilized couples.