No sex please, we’re British: survey reveals drop in UK lovemaking

Fewer than half of Britons have sex at least once a week and rates are declining, new data suggests.

A survey has found fewer than half of Brits have sex at least once a week.

People over the age of 25 and those who are married or living with a partner are having less sex than in the past, while the proportion wanting more sex is rising.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analysed data for more than 34,000 men and women aged 16 to 44 who completed the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles in 1991, 2001 and 2012. The data showed a general decline in sexual activity in Britain between 2001 and 2012. The steepest falls were among the over-25s and those who were married or living together.

Overall, the proportion reporting no sex in the past month fell between the first and second surveys (from 28.5 per cent to 23 per cent in women and from 30.9 per cent to 26 per cent in men), but increased significantly in the final 2012 survey (to 29.3 per cent in women and 29.2 per cent in men).

The proportion reporting sex ten times or more in the past month increased between the first two surveys (from 18.4 per cent to 20.6 per cent in women and from 19.9 per cent to 20.2 per cent in men), but fell in the final survey to 13.2 per cent in woman and 14.4 per cent in men.

Overall, 41 per cent of men and women had sex once a week or more in the past month, the most recent survey showed.

Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the authors said: “The most recent data show that fewer than half of men and women aged 16 to 44 have sex at least once a week.

“Those aged under 25 years and those currently single are less likely to be sexually active, but we saw the steepest declines in sexual frequency in those aged 25 and over and those married or cohabiting.

“At the same time, the proportion of men and women saying that they would prefer more frequent sex increased.”

Men and women in better physical and mental health had sex more frequently, as did those who were fully employed and those with higher earnings.

Among both men and women who were married or living together, the odds of reporting sex ten or more times in the past month were roughly halved. Declines of this magnitude were not seen among single people.