Have you ever wondered how much sex there is in the world? Well, scientists actually did and they gave their best to figure it out, along with other stuff that might have never crossed your mind.
Among the craziest concepts I found while researching for this article is that of “sexual distance”, which is a distance penis travels while thrusting into the vagina (or mouth, anus) during intercourse, and for some reason someone dedicated a whole webpage to calculating the distance you ride in bed (you can calculate your own and it’s quite fun). Even though the anonymous author does not name the sources of the input data, it seems legit enough.
Quite the Ride
Thus the page states, if the average penis size is 13cm and therefore we assume a penetration depth is around 11cm, while the average duration is found to be 11min, the typical intercourse will take you for a ride of 53m with normal thrusting frequency and 71m with fast pace. Since the average adult typically practices sexual activity a bit more frequently than once a week or 54 times a year (data is from a study performed on the American population), a typical sexually active person will ride 2,8 km (1.7 miles) by/on penis per year (and 3,8km if you prefer a faster rhythm).
Negative Trends
Unfortunately, the yearly distance is diminishing, as the already mentioned study (conducted in 2014) found that the yearly number of sexual encounters decreased by nine in little over a decade from late 90s to mid 2010s, both as a result of an increasing number of individuals without a steady or marital partner and a decline in frequency of sex among those with partners.
The newer studies also confirm the negative trends, with one conducted in 2020 showing that the number of sexually inactive individuals (who report not having sex in the previous year) increased for both sexes in two age groups that would be expected to get the most mileage out of their rides (18 to 24 years and 25 to 34 years).
The More the Better?
Luckily, the other study, focusing on the connection between frequency of sex and sense of well-being in a relationship, found that the golden standard for optimal well-being is an attainable frequency of one sexual encounter per week. If you have more sex than that, good for you, but, according to scientists, it won’t increase the satisfaction with your relationship. Those who have less sex than that, however, are significantly less satisfied with their love life.
Viva Mexico!
Speaking of satisfaction, there are massive differences between various countries. The countries that report the liveliest sex life are Mexico and Nigeria where 71 to 80 percent respondents reported having exciting sex. Mexican satisfaction with their sex life can be also explained by the abundance of one of the most important components of good lovemaking – respect. As much as 88 percent of Mexicans reported feeling respected in bed, so kudos for that Mexicanos, you’re doing it right! Situation in Japan is just the opposite, with only 10 percent of people there reporting having exciting sex, which is the worst score in the world.
So, How Much Sex IS there?
But I still owe you the answer to the question that inspired this article – how much sex is happening in the world every day? In the end, I found it in an excellent, if not the freshest publication, the Atlas of Human Sexual Behavior – published 23 years ago but still one of the best sources of crazy sexual data. Sex occurs around 120 million times a day, meaning that around 240 million people experience it daily (threesomes and orgies are still just on the level of statistical error). To put things in perspective, it means 10 million people are making love every hour and 166,666 people every minute, which is quite staggering. And if we consider the number was calculated when the world population was around two billion fewer than today’s (8 billion), the real one might be up to 30 percent higher, which makes a whole lot of love.