Average number of sexual partners: By Age, Gender, and Country – Promiscuity Statistics
By Bedbible Research Center / September 01, 2023
This research is based on a longitudinal dataset of 68,846 US survey respondents collected from 1972 to 2023. Additionally, a dataset of 317,182 respondents was aggregated to shine a light on country-by-country differences. Based on the collective dataset this article lays out the most interesting findings and tabulations from the analysis. These are mainly findings related to demographic differences in how many sexual partners people have.
To get a hold of the complete dataset for “Average number of sexual partners: By Age, Gender, and Country – Promiscuity Statistics” please contact contact@bedbible.com to get in contact with our Research Center. Data can be delivered in formats applicable to most statistics programs (Stata, R, SPSS, and in file types such as .sts, .csv, .tar.gz, .txt). Please make sure to reference the dataset and article when using, quoting, or reiterating any points, insights, or data.
We will update the publicly available findings, graphs, and tabulated data to reflect the most recent numbers on the average number of reported sexual partners.
Key Findings
- The global average number of sexual partners is 9.
- The baby boomer generation was the most promiscuous with 12 different sexual partners on average.
- In the past 12 months, the Millennial generation was the most sexually active with over 2 different sexual partners on average.
- Women report on average to have 68% fewer different sexual partners in their lifetime.
- Men have on average 16.51 different sexual partners while women have 6.79 different sexual partners in their lifetime
- By age 20 women report to have been with 5.1 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 30 women report to have been with 6.2 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 20 men report to have been with 7.9 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 30 men report to have been with 11.3 different sexual partners on average.
- 5.4% of men report to have been with over 40 different sexual partners (over 500.000 men)
- 1.8% of women report to have been with over 40 sexual partners.
By country, top 5 countries:
- Turkey – with 14.5 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- Australia – with 13.2 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- New Zealand – with 13.2 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- Iceland – with 13.0 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- South africa – with 12.5 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
Average number of sexual partners By Age
With the available dataset, we ran an analysis based on birth year. From the below graphs (and tabulated table) we can conclude that the earlier you are born, the more likely you are to report having more sexual partners.
From this data, we could find some more tangible insights into how many sexual partners men and women have had by the time they turned 20, 30, 40, and more.
Average body count by age and gender
This is what we found when looking at women of different ages:
- By age 20 women report to have been with 5.1 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 30 women report to have been with 6.2 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 40 women report to have been with 6.1 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 60 women report to have been with 6.3 different sexual partners on average.
This is what we found when looking at men of different ages:
- By age 20 men report to have been with 7.9 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 30 men report to have been with 11.3 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 40 men report to have been with 14.1 different sexual partners on average.
- By age 60 men report to have been with 16.2 different sexual partners on average.
| Average number of sex partners… | All | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| by age 20 | 6.5 | 7.9 | 5.1 |
| by age 30 | 8.8 | 11.3 | 6.2 |
| by age 40 | 10.1 | 14.1 | 6.1 |
| by age 60 | 11.3 | 16.2 | 6.3 |
Average number of sexual partners (all time), By Age/Birthyear
Average number of sexual partners (last 12 months), By Age/Birthyear
Younger people have on average had more sexual partners than older people in the past 12 months.
This tendency breaks at people around 25 years old, where the average number of sexual partners fall again – implying that if you are younger than 25 years old you have are not as sexually active.
To make the dataset more simply we have taken averages on different decades from the 1900s to 2000s, and found that the decade with most different sexual partners on average is the 1990s with an average of 2.2 sexual partners.
Note on the data analysis and conclusion:
Please be aware that in data collection and analysis it is not possible to account for a change in how willingly/openly people report. This means that there is a reason to believe that the effect is also driven by younger generations being more open about how many they have been with sexually. This means that the young generation are both more promiscuous and also more open to admit to it.
With a very limited number of respondents born in 1900 (even with surveys held throughout the 1970s and 1980s) we have simply been unable to gather enough data to give reliable numbers. The data become statisticalle significant around 1908.
Generations – Is the Millennial Generation more promiscuous than Generation X or Boomers?
We made a graphical overlay with the generations to ease understanding.
Total
Last 12 months
Reported number of sexual partners By Gender (and generation) – ALL TIME
By far the biggest revelation is the fact that systematically across generations women report to have had fewer different sexual partners. In fact women on average report to have had 68% fewer sexual partners than men.
Although sexual preferences between genders might induce a slight difference in the actual average number of sexual partners that each gender has this is most likely caused by bias. Whether that bias is predominant for male reporting higher than actual or women reporting lower than their actual number is not possible to decipher from the dataset.
| Total sexual partners per Gender, and Generation | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 7.24 | 1.31 |
| 1910s | 7.58 | 1.73 |
| 1920s | 12.07 | 2.05 |
| 1930s | 17.00 | 2.79 |
| 1940s | 19.28 | 5.04 |
| 1950s | 18.86 | 6.73 |
| 1960s | 16.34 | 6.41 |
| 1970s | 14.16 | 6.00 |
| 1980s | 12.04 | 6.26 |
| 1990s | 8.20 | 5.53 |
| 2000s | 4.11 | 0.76 |
| Total | 12.44 | 4.05 |
Reported number of sexual partners By Gender (and generation) – Past 12 months
| Generation | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.500 | 0.051 |
| 1910s | 0.528 | 0.178 |
| 1920s | 0.731 | 0.348 |
| 1930s | 1.170 | 0.529 |
| 1940s | 1.143 | 0.721 |
| 1950s | 1.349 | 0.894 |
| 1960s | 1.650 | 1.137 |
| 1970s | 1.782 | 1.240 |
| 1980s | 2.085 | 1.468 |
| 1990s | 2.475 | 2.009 |
| 2000s | 1.211 | 0.517 |
| Total | 1.329 | 0.827 |
Age and Gender – when asked at different times in the dataset
To give more clarity into what possible options you have of discovering insights into the dataset here is an additional tabulation.
What we have done is has 3 parts:
- Aggregated survey results based on 4 periods: 1) 1991-2000, 2) 2001-2010, 3) 2011-2020, and 4) only in 2021
- Used age instead of birthyear to tabulate, as the seperation of survey years medigates any biases induced by asking respondents in different years.
- To give additional clarity and insights we grouped age in 6 different groups and added gender as another variable.
| Survey year: | 1991 -2000 | 1991 -2000 | 2001 -2010 | 2001 -2010 | 2011 -2020 | 2011 -2020 | 2021 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender → Born in ↓ | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women |
| 1900s | 4.67 | 1.31 | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 1910s | 7.60 | 1.76 | 9.93 | 1.54 | . | . | . | . |
| 1920s | 12.77 | 1.79 | 10.70 | 2.48 | 11.89 | 1.47 | . | . |
| 1930s | 18.98 | 3.20 | 16.32 | 2.63 | 8.79 | 2.05 | 23.89 | 2.70 |
| 1940s | 20.14 | 5.57 | 19.54 | 4.81 | 20.87 | 4.29 | 13.00 | 5.62 |
| 1950s | 17.19 | 6.87 | 22.37 | 7.17 | 19.22 | 6.70 | 20.83 | 6.44 |
| 1960s | 13.72 | 5.61 | 19.00 | 6.70 | 18.56 | 7.02 | 21.84 | 11.27 |
| 1970s | 9.49 | 4.09 | 15.69 | 6.41 | 16.65 | 6.87 | 20.16 | 9.89 |
| 1980s | 4.00 | 1.39 | 9.26 | 4.69 | 14.63 | 6.99 | 13.99 | 10.28 |
| 1990s | . | . | 2.58 | 2.17 | 6.93 | 5.03 | 13.30 | 7.35 |
| 2000s | . | . | . | . | 1.60 | 0.80 | 5.08 | 0.74 |
| Total: | 12.06 | 3.51 | 13.93 | 4.29 | 13.23 | 4.58 | 16.51 | 6.79 |
As the data for the past 12 months was unavailable in the 2021 dataset we only included 3 of the 4 survey periods.
| 1991-2000 | 1991-2000 | 2001-2010 | 2001-2010 | 2011-2020 | 2011-2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender: | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female |
| <20 | 1.97 | 1.26 | 3.75 | 1.66 | 1.76 | 1.26 |
| 21-30 | 2.00 | 1.37 | 2.14 | 1.53 | 1.98 | 1.44 |
| 31-40 | 1.73 | 1.09 | 1.59 | 1.13 | 1.54 | 1.18 |
| 41-50 | 1.34 | 0.96 | 1.48 | 1.08 | 1.23 | 1.07 |
| 51-60 | 1.05 | 0.75 | 1.18 | 0.75 | 1.09 | 0.75 |
| +60 | 0.73 | 0.33 | 0.98 | 0.40 | 0.81 | 0.44 |
| Total | 1.47 | 0.96 | 1.85 | 1.09 | 1.40 | 1.02 |
By age groups and gender – as percentage and population estimate
| Age group | No. Sexual partners | Women, Population Estimate | Women, % | | | Men, Population Estimate | Men, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15–19 | 0–1 partner | 7,541,000 | 72 | | | 7,627,000 | 70.5 |
| 15–19 | 2–4 partners | 18,050,000 | 17.2 | | | 1,877,000 | 17.4 |
| 15–19 | 5–9 partners | 828,000 | 7.9 | | | 722,000 | 6.7 |
| 15–19 | 10–39 partners | 54,000 | 2.9 | | | 556,000 | 5.1 |
| 15–19 | 40+ partners | — | — | | | 35,000 | 0.3 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20–24 | 0–1 partner | 3,599,000 | 34.7 | | | 3,346,000 | 32.2 |
| 20–24 | 2–4 partners | 2,987,000 | 28.8 | | | 2,607,000 | 25.1 |
| 20–24 | 5–9 partners | 2,425,000 | 23.4 | | | 2,119,000 | 20.4 |
| 20–24 | 10–39 partners | 1,260,000 | 12.2 | | | 2,004,000 | 19.3 |
| 20–24 | 40+ partners | 94,000 | 0.9 | | | 318,000 | 3.1 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 25–29 | 0–1 partner | 2,625,000 | 24.9 | | | 1,849,000 | 17.2 |
| 25–29 | 2–4 partners | 3,219,000 | 30.6 | | | 2,757,000 | 25.6 |
| 25–29 | 5–9 partners | 2,528,000 | 24 | | | 2,659,000 | 24.7 |
| 25–29 | 10–39 partners | 1,955,000 | 18.6 | | | 2,986,000 | 27.8 |
| 25–29 | 40+ partners | 208,000 | 2 | | | 509,000 | 4.7 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 30–34 | 0–1 partner | 2,040,000 | 22.2 | | | 1,536,000 | 16.6 |
| 30–34 | 2–4 partners | 2,836,000 | 30.9 | | | 1,976,000 | 21.4 |
| 30–34 | 5–9 partners | 2,268,000 | 24.7 | | | 1,843,000 | 20 |
| 30–34 | 10–39 partners | 1,851,000 | 20.1 | | | 3,060,000 | 33.2 |
| 30–34 | 40+ partners | 193,000 | 2.1 | | | 812,000 | 8.8 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 35–39 | 0–1 partner | 2,454,000 | 23.3 | | | 1,691,000 | 16.3 |
| 35–39 | 2–4 partners | 3,188,000 | 30.3 | | | 2,235,000 | 21.5 |
| 35–39 | 5–9 partners | 2,902,000 | 27.5 | | | 2,081,000 | 20 |
| 35–39 | 10–39 partners | 1,839,000 | 17.5 | | | 3,556,000 | 34.2 |
| 35–39 | 40+ partners | 154,000 | 1.5 | | | 843,000 | 8.1 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 40–44 | 0–1 partner | 2,295,000 | 21.5 | | | 1,399,000 | 13.3 |
| 40–44 | 2–4 partners | 3,246,000 | 30.5 | | | 2,443,000 | 23.2 |
| 40–44 | 5–9 partners | 3,141,000 | 29.5 | | | 2,552,000 | 24.2 |
| 40–44 | 10–39 partners | 1,729,000 | 16.2 | | | 3,385,000 | 32.2 |
| 40–44 | 40+ partners | 240,000 | 2.3 | | | 747,000 | 7.1 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| All | 0–1 partner | 3,425,667 | 33.1 | | | 2,908,000 | 27.7 |
| All | 2–4 partners | 5,587,667 | 28.1 | | | 2,315,833 | 22.4 |
| All | 5–9 partners | 2,348,667 | 22.8 | | | 1,996,000 | 19.3 |
| All | 10–39 partners | 1,448,000 | 14.6 | | | 2,591,166 | 25.3 |
| All | 40+ partners | 177,800 | 1.8 | | | 544,000 | 5.4 |
By country
The global average number of sexual partners is placed at 9 for the age group 25-44 years old.
The same age group was used to rank the top 41 countries with enough available data to determine statistical significance.
Top 5 countries
- Turkey – with 14.5 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- Australia – with 13.2 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- New Zealand – with 13.2 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- Iceland – with 13.0 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- South africa – with 12.5 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
…
- Canada – with 10.7 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- United States – with 10.7 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
- Greece – with 10.6 average sexual partners at the age of 25-44
Full tabulation, by country
As budget restraints did not allow for full longitudinal surveying of a large enough sample of each individual country we have aggregated datasets from multiple 3rd party sources. This should effectively adjust for individual discrepancies and measurement error.
| # Rank | Country | Sexual Partners, Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkey | 14.5 |
| 2 | Australia | 13.3 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 13.2 |
| 4 | Iceland | 13 |
| 5 | South Africa | 12.5 |
| 6 | Finland | 12.4 |
| 7 | Norway | 12.1 |
| 8 | Italy | 11.8 |
| 9 | Sweden | 11.8 |
| 10 | Ireland | 11.1 |
| 11 | Switzerland | 11.1 |
| 12 | Canada | 10.7 |
| 13 | United States | 10.7 |
| 14 | Greece | 10.6 |
| 15 | Israel | 10.6 |
| 16 | Thailand | 10.6 |
| 17 | Japan | 10.2 |
| 18 | Chile | 10.1 |
| 19 | Serbia & Montenegro | 10.1 |
| 20 | United Kingdom | 9.8 |
| 21 | Austria | 9.7 |
| 22 | Denmark | 9.3 |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 9.1 |
| 24 | Czech Republic | 9 |
| 25 | France | 8.1 |
| 26 | Croatia | 7.5 |
| 27 | Belgium | 7.5 |
| 28 | Singapore | 7.2 |
| 29 | Netherlands | 7 |
| 30 | Portugal | 7 |
| 31 | Taiwan | 6.6 |
| 32 | Spain | 6.1 |
| 33 | Poland | 6 |
| 34 | Germany | 5.8 |
| 35 | Malaysia | 5.8 |
| 36 | Slovakia | 5.4 |
| 37 | Indonesia | 5.1 |
| 38 | Hong Kong | 3.7 |
| 39 | Vietnam | 3.2 |
| 40 | China | 3.1 |
| 41 | India | 3 |
| – | Global | 9 |
Sex Toy Usage and Its Correlation with the Average Number of Sexual Partners
The landscape of intimacy has evolved significantly over the years, with sex toys playing a pivotal role in shaping individual and collective experiences.
As we delve into the statistics surrounding the average number of sexual partners, an intriguing correlation emerges with sex toy usage.
1. Diverse Experiences:
Individuals who have experimented with a variety of sex toys, such as tentacle dildos or double dildos, often report a broader spectrum of sexual experiences. This exploration can sometimes correlate with a higher number of sexual partners, as individuals seek diverse experiences both solo and with partners.
2. Enhancing Long-Distance Relationships:
The rise of long-distance sex toys has bridged the gap for couples separated by physical distance. Interestingly, these couples often maintain a lower average of sexual partners, as the toys provide a means of intimacy despite the separation.
3. Exploring Fantasies:
Toys like sex dolls or pegging kits allow individuals and couples to explore specific fantasies. Those who indulge in such fantasies might not necessarily have a higher number of partners but engage in a wider range of activities with their current partners.
4. Performance Enhancement:
Devices like penis pumps and penis vibrators are often used by individuals to enhance performance and pleasure. Their usage might not directly correlate with the number of partners but indicates a proactive approach to sexual health and satisfaction.
5. The World of Dildos:
The vast array of dildos available, from metal to realistic dildos, and from big dildos to small ones, reflects the diverse desires of individuals. Those who own multiple types might not have a higher number of partners but showcase a keen interest in self-exploration.
6. Shower Adventures:
The popularity of shower sex toys indicates a penchant for spontaneous intimacy. Such users might have a slightly higher average of partners, given their adventurous streak.
In conclusion, while there’s a correlation between sex toy usage and the average number of sexual partners, it’s essential to understand that toys primarily enhance the quality of sexual experiences. Whether used solo or with partners, they reflect an individual’s openness to exploration and self-discovery.
