Study reveals what most people think of as a high amount of sexual partners

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Britons think 20 or more sexual partners is a lot a new YouGov survey has revealed.
The stats come as part of a wider poll looking at modern society's sexual histories and habits and it has revealed the UK as being a surprisingly chaste nation.
The average Briton claims to have only had sex with four people in their lifetime.
Researchers at YouGov asked the respondents what they considered to be a 'small and large lifetime numbers of sexual partners'.
Sharing the findings on X, they revealed that the majority of people see 20 or more sexual partners as a 'large' amount.
Similarly, 15 or more people was seen as large by 41 per cent.
People who had slept with 0-4 or 5 people were seen as having a 'small' number by the majority of those polled, and 6 to fourteen sexual partners were seen as having neither a 'small' or 'large' number.
The researchers added that, unsurprisingly, people's idea of large or small is skewed by their own sexual history.
The study explained: 'Whether Britons regard a number of sexual partners as large or small depends on how many people they themselves have slept with.
'At an overall level, the attitudes of men and women are effectively the same across the range.
'However, the generations do take differing views, with young people being the quickest to start saying that a number of sexual partners is "high".
'This is not necessarily surprising – the older someone is, the more chances to have sexual encounters they have had, and it is probably fair to assume that respondents are basing their answers on the tally of a person about the same age as them.'
For instance, 44 per cent of people who have had one sexual partner in their life sees 10 or more partners as a 'large' number, with 27 per cent of people with four sexual partners saying the same.
Meanwhile, eight per cent of people who have slept with ten to 14 people, and three per cent of people with 25 or more partners deem ten partners to be a 'large' number.
Interestingly, the study found that young men and old women were notably more likely than their counterparts to consider a given number to represent a 'large number' of lifetime sexual partners.
In June, a study found that women who have sex at least once a week are the 'happiest' in their relationship.
While Bonnie Blue is famous for having sex with 1,000 men in a day, the average Briton has only slept with 4 people in their life
So what do Britons consider to be small and large lifetime numbers of sexual partners?
0-4 people - majority see as small
5 people - 48% small / 40%… pic.twitter.com/1J3dpqZzmn
— YouGov (@YouGov) August 4, 2025
Scientists found 85 per cent of women who had sex once a week described themselves as 'sexually satisfied', according to a study of nearly 500 heterosexual women.
In contrast, only 66 per cent of wives and girlfriends who had sex once a month reported the same level of relationship bliss.
And the figure fell to 17 per cent among those women who had intercourse less than this.
Author of the new study Alexandra Janssen, a researcher at the University Of Manchester, said the findings show the importance of regular intimate relations.
She told the Daily Mail: 'While the study shows an association between frequency of sex and sexual relationship satisfaction, this is only a correlation.
'We don't know whether women are happier because they are having more sex, if they are having more sex because they are happier, or if they are happier and having more sex because of other factors-perhaps they don't have kids.
'Also, the fact that women who have less sex are also less satisfied in their relationship isn't particularly surprising.'