Men claim to have had more sexual partners in their lifetime than women
What’s your number? At some point in a relationship, couples are likely to ask each other how many people they have slept with.
New YouGov Surveys data has revealed that the median number of sexual partners among Britons who were willing to disclose their ‘magic number’ is four. Men, on average, say they have had five sexual partners over their lifetime, while women average three.
There appears to be a cultural shift between generations, with those aged 60 and over having an average of three sexual partners in their lifetime compared to those aged 40 to 59 whose claims average to six partners, and those aged 30-39 averaging five.
One in six (17%) willing to disclose their tally of sexual partners say they have only ever slept with one person over the course of their life, with 13% of men having had just the one sexual partner compared to 21% of women.
A quarter of Britons (25%) claim to have slept with 10 or more people. There is a gender divide for those hitting double figures with 30% of men saying they’ve had at least 10 sexual partners compared to 20% of women.
At the other end of the scale, one in eleven (9%) of those willing to answer say they are still virgins, with 7% of women saying they haven’t lost their virginity compared to 12% of men.
Those aged 60 and over are the most likely to say they have only ever slept with one person over the course of their life. A quarter of the oldest age group (25%) who were willing to give details say they have only ever had one sexual partner compared to 11-16% of all other age groups.
Meanwhile, those aged 40-59 appear to be the most promiscuous, with one in five (21%) claiming to have slept with at least 15 people.
See also the accompanying study: At what age did Britons lose their virginity?
