New Study Finds Average Number Of Lifetime Sexual Partners For Men And Women

Published August 22, 2017
Updated October 30, 2019

See how the U.S. and Europe compare on average sexual partners.

Average Number Of Lifetime Sex Partners

Pixabay

A new survey has revealed what the average number of sexual partners in the U.S. and Europe is for both men and women.

Health and beauty product retailer Superdrug has conducted a massive survey of sexual attitudes and histories from over 2,000 men and women from the United States and Europe. From this data they have been able to conclude much about the sexual mores of modern society.

This includes determining the average number of sexual partners that men and women have across the U.S. and Europe. For the entire sample group, it was determined that women averaged 7 sexual partners while men averaged 6.4. Interestingly, the average number that people indicate as an ideal amount of sexual partners is incredibly close to this average, with women averaging 7.5 as an ideal number of partners and men averaging 7.6.

Sexual Partners By Country

Superdrug

The study has also broken this number down by country and US states. It determined that, in Europe, of the countries included, the Netherlands and the U.K. had the highest numbers of sexual partners, while people in Italy and Belgium had the fewest. This seems to contradict many stereotypes that paint Southern Europeans as more sexually promiscuous.

Sexual Partners By State

Superdrug

When it comes to U.S. states, of the 41 states for which they received sufficient data from, they determined that people in Louisiana have by far the greatest number of sexual partners at 15.7, with South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Nebraska ranking shortly behind.

On the other end of the spectrum, Utah residents have the fewest number of sexual partners (2.6), likely because of the influence of the Mormon Church.

On top of that, the study analyzed to what extent members of these genders lie about the number of sexual partners they have. To the surprise of no one, more men (17.5%) have lied to increase the reported number of their sexual partners than women (8.2%), while more women (18.6%) have lied to decrease the number than men (13.7%).

Who Lies More

Superdrug

More men overall (41.4%) admitted to lying about the number of sexual partners they have had than women (32.6%).

The study also determined how people in these countries feel about the number of sexual partners people should have. Most men consider 14 partners to be too promiscuous and 2.3 as too conservative. Women had similar numbers, with 15.2 partners defining promiscuity and 1.9 indicating someone is too conservative.

Sexual Sentiment By Country

Superdrug


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author
Gabe Paoletti
author
Gabe Paoletti is a New York City-based writer and a former Editorial Intern at All That's Interesting. He holds a Bachelor's in English from Fordham University.
editor
Gabe Paoletti
editor
Gabe Paoletti is a New York City-based writer and a former Editorial Intern at All That's Interesting. He holds a Bachelor's in English from Fordham University.