It’s no secret that Brits are pretty shy about sharing their bedroom behaviours. But for most of us, this only makes the truth more tantalising. In 1990, Natsal began – Britain’s National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.
They are the largest scientific studies of sex in the world to date, lifting the lid on the sex lives of over 45,000 people. Professor David Spiegelhalter has explored this data and more in his book, Sex by Numbers, that accompanies the Wellcome Collection's Sexology Season. Scroll down for a look through the window into the world of sex...
Read more about Natsal and Sex by NumbersScroll down
This graph shows the average number of times people have had sex (with someone of the opposite sex) in the past 4 weeks, by survey year. It’s measured by the median, which is the value halfway along the distribution of the answers given by everyone who is sexually active, which means they have had at least one same opposite-sex partner in the last year.
These results are from Natsal-1 (1990–91), Natsal-2 (1999–2001) and Natsal-3 (2010–12) and are for sexually active people aged 16–44, as all the surveys cover this age range.
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 5 | 5 |
| 2000 | 4 | 4 |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3 | 5 |
| 2000 | 3 | 5 |
| 2010 | 3 | 4 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6 | 5 |
| 2000 | 5 | 5 |
| 2010 | 4 | 4 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 5 | 5 |
| 2000 | 4 | 4 |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 |
So it seems people are having less sex. But why? Experts suggest that our over-connection with the digital world may be leading to less connection in the bedroom.
Let’s hope this rate of decline doesn’t continue, as otherwise by 2040 the average person may not be having any sex at all.
Tweet thisThis graph shows the average number of opposite-sex partners people have had in their lifetime so far. It’s measured by the median, which is the value halfway along the distribution of everyone’s answers. These results are from Natsal-3 (2010–12) only and are for people aged 16–74.
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 3 | 3 |
| 25-34 | 6 | 5 |
| 35-44 | 8 | 5 |
| 45-54 | 8 | 4 |
| 55-64 | 5 | 3 |
| 65-74 | 4 | 2 |
Surprisingly, it seems the older women have had fewer partners. Intriguing when you think they’ve had more time to add to their collection. It shows that behaviour has changed between women born in the 1930s and those born in the 1970s.
These averages mask the great variation in people’s experiences, with the most common response being precisely one, in stark contrast to the few who reported more than 500 partners.
Tweet thisThis graph shows the percentage of the population who have ever had a sexual experience with someone of the same sex as them.
These results are from Natsal-1 (1990–91), Natsal-2 (1999–2001) and Natsal-3 (2010–12) and are for people aged 16–44.
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6 | 4 |
| 2000 | 8 | 10 |
| 2010 | 7 | 16 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4 | 2 |
| 2000 | 5 | 5 |
| 2010 | 5 | 8 |
When it comes to same-sex experiences, the situation is not the same for both sexes. While there’s been little change for the men, women’s behaviour has seen a leap over relatively little time.
And kissing is just half the story: around 50% of these women reported genital contact too. While activity has clearly increased, some evidence suggests women are also more open to sharing their stories.
Tweet thisThis graph shows the percentage of the whole population who said they had had different types of sex in the past year: with people of the opposite sex or the same sex as them.
These results are from Natsal-3 (2010–12) only and are for all people aged 16–74.
Participants were given definitions of different types of sex, developed after interviews with members of the public before the first Natsal survey, exploring the best way to describe different types of sex. These definitions were designed to correspond with the most commonly used lay terms, and also enable us to collect data to help understand the transmission of HIV and other STIs.
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 74 | 75 |
| 25-34 | 89 | 91 |
| 35-44 | 91 | 89 |
| 45-54 | 85 | 81 |
| 55-64 | 75 | 59 |
| 65-74 | 57 | 37 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 71 | 70 |
| 25-34 | 80 | 80 |
| 35-44 | 80 | 75 |
| 45-54 | 71 | 63 |
| 55-64 | 52 | 35 |
| 65-74 | 30 | 19 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 19 | 17 |
| 25-34 | 18 | 16 |
| 35-44 | 15 | 13 |
| 45-54 | 14 | 8 |
| 55-64 | 8 | 4 |
| 65-74 | 3 | 4 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 71 | 73 |
| 25-34 | 76 | 77 |
| 35-44 | 73 | 73 |
| 45-54 | 66 | 62 |
| 55-64 | 56 | 41 |
| 65-74 | 37 | 28 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 0 | 0 |
| 25-34 | 0 | 0 |
| 35-44 | 0 | 0 |
| 45-54 | 0 | 0 |
| 55-64 | 0 | 0 |
| 65-74 | 0 | 0 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 2 | 2 |
| 25-34 | 3 | 2 |
| 35-44 | 2 | 2 |
| 45-54 | 3 | 1 |
| 55-64 | 2 | 1 |
| 65-74 | 1 | 0 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 2 | 0 |
| 25-34 | 2 | 0 |
| 35-44 | 2 | 0 |
| 45-54 | 2 | 0 |
| 55-64 | 1 | 0 |
| 65-74 | 0 | 0 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 2 | 3 |
| 25-34 | 2 | 2 |
| 35-44 | 2 | 3 |
| 45-54 | 2 | 2 |
| 55-64 | 1 | 0 |
| 65-74 | 0 | 0 |
People have sex at all ages, although older people don’t have so much, or so much variety. Many no longer have a partner, and ill health doesn’t help. And some decline is due to the length of time people have been together, rather than just age itself.
Nevertheless, over the last 20 years people have introduced more variety into their sexual repertoire, with increases in both oral and anal sex. Anal sex remains a rarity, although twice as many have tried it than had 20 years ago.
Tweet thisThis graph shows the percentage of people who masturbated in the past 4 weeks, by sex and age group.
These results are from Natsal-3 (2010–12) only and are for people aged 16–74.
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 83 | 37 |
| 25-34 | 78 | 44 |
| 35-44 | 73 | 40 |
| 45-54 | 65 | 38 |
| 55-64 | 53 | 19 |
| 65-74 | 33 | 10 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 74 | 34 |
| 25-34 | 76 | 40 |
| 35-44 | 72 | 37 |
| 45-54 | 64 | 35 |
| 55-64 | 53 | 19 |
| 65-74 | 33 | 11 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 84 | 42 |
| 25-34 | 82 | 54 |
| 35-44 | 79 | 50 |
| 45-54 | 58 | 50 |
| 55-64 | 60 | 24 |
| 65-74 | 39 | 13 |
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 85 | 35 |
| 25-34 | 82 | 51 |
| 35-44 | 77 | 48 |
| 45-54 | 70 | 42 |
| 55-64 | 53 | 20 |
| 65-74 | 32 | 9 |
Masturbation – science shows it to be a safe and positive part of our sexual health, now that blindness, insanity, clammy hands and pimples have finally been ruled out as side-effects!
For men this may come as a relief, for twice as many men as women are masturbating. Being in a relationship doesn’t seem to change things either, since rates are only slightly higher for those with no current partner.
Tweet thisThis graph shows the median age at first heterosexual intercourse, by participants’ year of birth, showing how this has changed over the decades.
These results are from Natsal-3 (2010–12) and are for people aged 16–74.
| Year of birth (1935 - 1996) | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 35-39 | 19 | 20 |
| 40-49 | 18 | 19 |
| 50-59 | 17 | 18 |
| 60-69 | 17 | 17 |
| 70-79 | 17 | 17 |
| 80-89 | 17 | 17 |
| 90-96 | 16 | 16 |
The average age when people first have sex has definitely fallen in the last 60 years, 16 being the magic number for both men and women born in the 1990s.
The gender gap has also closed from previous years. Around 1 in 7 men born in the early 1950s reported having sex before 16, and around 1 in 10 women; but around 1 in 3 of the 1990s generation lost their virginity before they hit the legal age of consent.
Interestingly, economics has an influence too, with more young people in more deprived areas having sex before 16.
Tweet thisThis graph shows the percentage of people who have visited a sexual health clinic or had an HIV test in the past 5 years.
These results are from Natsal-1 (1990–91), Natsal-2 (1999–2001) and Natsal-3 (2010–12) and are for people aged 16–44. These questions were only asked of people who had ever had sex.
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4 | 3 |
| 2000 | 8 | 7 |
| 2010 | 20 | 21 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7 | 11 |
| 2000 | 9 | 9 |
| 2010 | 17 | 28 |
Since the first Natsal survey in 1990–91, many more people have been using sexual health clinics and having HIV tests, with 1 in 5 doing so in 2010–12.
Generally, high-risk behaviours have not increased, so this change is probably due to improved services and willingness to be tested.
Tweet thisThese bars show the proportion of men and women who reported that someone had made them have sex against their will.
These results are from Natsal-3 (2010–12) only and are for people aged 16–74.
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 1/71 | 1/10 |
These bars show who was responsible (the most recent occurrence, if it had happened more than once).
| Person responsible | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Intimate partner (former/current) | 23 | 41 |
| Family or friend | 30 | 20 |
| Other acquaintance | 30 | 21 |
| Stranger | 15 | 15 |
| Other | 2 | 3 |
1 in 10 women have experienced sex against their will, while 1 in 71 men have.
In the majority of cases, the person responsible was someone they knew. The results also reveal that fewer than half told someone, and even fewer reported it to the police, even when a stranger was responsible.
Tweet thisParticipants in the Natsal studies were read a series of statements about different types of relationships and were asked to give their views about each one: always wrong, mostly wrong, sometimes wrong, rarely wrong, or not wrong at all.
The graph shows the percentage of people who answered ‘always wrong’ to each statement.
These results are from Natsal-1 (1990–91), Natsal-2 (1999–2001) and Natsal-3 (2010–12) and are for people aged 16–44.
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 45 | 53 |
| 2000 | 51 | 60 |
| 2010 | 63 | 70 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 31 | 56 |
| 2000 | 19 | 32 |
| 2010 | 22 | 30 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 57 | 42 |
| 2000 | 39 | 20 |
| 2010 | 27 | 14 |
| Survey year | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 47 | 42 |
| 2000 | 26 | 19 |
| 2010 | 18 | 14 |
Our attitudes towards sex have certainly changed. While both sexes have become more accepting of same-sex partnerships, they’ve become less accepting of a married person having sex with someone other than their spouse. Many men, and even more women, stand against one-night stands, but the gap is closing.
Tweet thisThis graph shows the proportion of men who have paid money for sex with a man or woman: ever and in the past 5 years.
These results are from Natsal-3 (2010–12) only and are for men aged 16-74.
| Age group | Percent of population |
|---|---|
| 16-24 | 4 |
| 25-34 | 13 |
| 35-44 | 13 |
| 45-54 | 13 |
| 55-64 | 14 |
| 65-74 | 9 |
| Age group | Percent of population |
|---|---|
| 16-24 | 3 |
| 25-34 | 5 |
| 35-44 | 4 |
| 45-54 | 4 |
| 55-64 | 4 |
| 65-74 | 1 |
Of the men who said they had paid for sex, the majority didn’t do so on their doorsteps, but rather while outside the UK.
Interestingly, only 8 of the 8,000 women surveyed reported paying for sex.
Tweet this
When it comes to our sex lives we all like to keep a few secrets – which makes the jobs of sexologists pretty difficult.
Luckily, Professor David Spiegelhalter is here to unravel the web of exaggerations, misdirections and downright lies that surround sex in modern society. Drawing on the Natsal survey, he answers crucial questions such as: what are we all doing? How often? How has it changed?
Accompanying The Institute of Sexology - a major Wellcome Collection exhibition - Sex by Numbers is an informed and entertaining look at the most enduring of human obsessions.
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