Happiness with sex lives among men and women appears to be related to the degree of equality among the genders and age. But, to answer the question, across the world men on average report at least 10 percentage points higher than women. According to the results of the Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors, published in the April issue of the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, countries where males dominate females, like the Middle East, satisfaction with their sex lives is much reduced compared to nations with higher degrees of gender equality.
The greatest sexual satisfaction was reported in five countries in descending order, Austria, Spain, Canada, Belgium and the United States, while Japan and Taiwan were at the bottom of the scale. Turkey, Egypt and Algeria came in the middle.
The major findings of the study are summarized as follows:
1. In Western nations, two-thirds of men and women reported their sexual relationships were satisfying, and 80 percent said they were satisfied with their ability to have sex. About half of the men and one third of the women said sex was extremely or very important in their lives.
2. In Middle Eastern nations, 50 percent of men and 38 percent of women found their sex lives satisfying. About 70 percent said they were satisfied with their ability to have sex. Sixty percent of men and 37 percent of women said sex is an important part of their overall lives.
3. In East Asian countries, only about one quarter of men and women reported physical and emotional pleasure with sex, while two thirds of the men and half of the women reported satisfaction with their ability to have sex. Among men, 28 percent said sex was important to them, while only 12 percent of the women did.
This was the first large-scale international study to include large numbers of subjects from diverse religious traditions, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and other Asian religions, and atheists.
Posted by Dr. Jennifer Stagg on August 12, 2006 02:43 PM
