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Updated:07/02/2024

Sindex by Sinful - Britons and sex

Sindex by Sinful

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What does a 'normal sex life' look like in the United Kingdom? Is it just women, who fake orgasms? Will my fantasies and desires scare away potential sex partners? Do I masturbate too often?

For a long time, sex has been a topic that we didn’t speak openly about. Therefore, Britons have many ideas about what makes up a 'normal sex life' – and perhaps they are not always entirely close to reality.

Most Britons say they have had 10 or fewer sex partners in their life. The majority of us have been sexually active within the last month and just over a quarter of us fantasise about having sex on a special location such as an airplane or in nature while a third of us have in fact already tried it.

Unfortunately, the numbers also confirm what other studies about sexual inequality have shown: The orgasm gap is evident. While 78% of British men have an orgasm often or every time during sex with others, this only goes for 58% of British women.

Delve into the numbers here to see all the nuances of the 'normal sex life' in the United Kingdom.

16 % of Britons have not had sex in the past year

How often do Britons have sex?

One to several times a day

25%

1-2 times a week

15%

3-6 times a week

18%

1-3 times a month

3-5 times every 6 months

Less than 6 times in the past year

16%

I have not had sex at all within the past year

I don’t know/I don’t want to answer

59% of Britons dream about having more sex with their partner

60% of Britons have had maximum 10 sex partners

0 partners

37%

1-5 partners

21%

6-10 partners

11%

11-15 partners

16-20 partners

21-25 partners

26-30 partners

31-40 partners

41-50 partners

More than 50 partners

I don’t know/I don’t want to answer

The Orgasm Gap

78%

of men say they have an orgasm every time or often when they have sex with others

58%

of women say they have an orgasm every time or often when they have sex with others

45% of Britons say they have faked an orgasm

22%

of men say they have faked an orgasm

68%

of women say they have faked an orgasm

Reasons why Britons stop faking orgasms

They have started to tell their sex partner what they liked

Their partner began to pay more attention to their desires and preferences

They have become more comfortable with not having an orgasm

They started to feel more confident

They started to explore how they could get an orgasm on their own

Men masturbate more often than women

How often have you masturbated in the past year?

Men

Women

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

Less than monthly

Hasn’t masturbated in the past year

Do not know / do not want to answer

A couple is walking with the arms around each other

28% of Britons fantasise about having sex in a special location such as an airplane or in nature, and 32% have already tried it

About Sindex by Sinful

The Sindex maps out how Britons feel about relationships, intimacy, and sex. The Sindex is published by Sinful.

All figures and numbers in Sindex are based on an international population survey and sales data from Sinful.

The population survey was conducted in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, and the United Kingdom with a total of 12,000 respondents – 2,000 in each country. Data were collected via Cint in the period 17 May to 8 June 2022. The survey was sent out to a representative sample in relation to gender, age, and region. Full representativeness is ensured through subsequent weighting of the data.