Almost half of all adults surveyed said they were happy with their sex lives although men are the least satisfied with how often they have sex. The survey also revealed the global average age for first time sex is 17.3 and the trend is for people to lose their virginity earlier, with 16 to 20 year olds becoming sexually active by 16.3 years.

Most people believe sex education should start at 11.7 years. Virtually all those surveyed believe children of 16 and under should receive sex education and more than a third believe governments should invest in sex education in schools. Almost half of all adults globally admit to having had unprotected sex without knowing their partner’s sexual history, despite more than one in 10 admitting to having had a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

How the research was conducted

Based on the number of respondents from 41 countries, the 2005 Durex Global Sex Survey is the largest sexual health research project of its kind in the world. Now in its ninth year, the survey has quadrupled in size since its launch and covers 41 countries - newcomers this year included Indonesia and Chile. This is the fourth year that this survey has been carried out via the durex.com website and responses have been analysed by sex and age to give an in-depth and truly global picture of sexual attitudes and behaviour.