Brits have at least nine sexual partners on average in their lifetimes

London, Oct 28 : You can call them experimenting or promiscuous, but according to a sex poll, an average Briton has had at least nine sexual partners.

The survey, conducted by ICM Research in Sept 2008 interviewed a sample of 1,044 UK adults, above 16 years of age.

The participants were asked to complete a confidential questionnaire, which was then placed in a sealed envelope. Also, the researchers conducted Interviews across the country and weighed the results to the profile of all adults.

According to the survey, only 20 per cent of the population have had more than 10 sexual partners, reports The Guardian.

And when it comes to having sexual partners, men were found to be more promiscuous than women-what with having had an average of 11 sexual partners while women have had an average of under seven.

And the youngsters in UK were more experimental, as participants in the age group of 16-24 have already had an average of nine sexual partners.

In fact, residents of Wales or the southwest have had the most sexual partners (12), while those in Scotland have had the least (6).

The survey also found that an average Briton loses their virginity when he/she is between 16 -17 years of age-in total, 37 per cent of Britons lost their virginity before the age of 16, the legal age of consent.

A total of sixty-eight per cent of Britons are currently in a stable relationship, while the average length of relationship for them is just under 15 years.

Speaking about frequency, the survey found that an average Briton has sex just under seven times per month, i.e. less than twice a week. And the interesting part is that men claimed to have sex more frequently than women.

It was revealed that three out of four Britons are satisfied with their sex life, and there wasn't much difference between the genders or age groups in this respect.

A similar trend was seen in young Britons, who claimed to have sex far more frequently than older Britons, but those people above 65 years of age are more likely to be satisfied with their sex life than those aged 16-24.

One in five Britons consider themselves to have a very high sex drive. And it is the men who reported a higher sex drive than women-27 per cent of men say they have a very high sex drive compared with 11 per cent of women.

On average, the 16-24 age group has the highest sex drive, however, there is a significant drop in the for each successive age group, suggesting that sex drive diminishes with age for most of us.

Interestingly, those who are married have a significantly lower sex drive than those who are single; 61 per cent of singles say they have a high sex drive compared with 39 per cent of those who are married.

One in four Britons consider themselves to be a very good lover, despite the fact that they are most likely to think themselves to be average in this respect.

ANI