Less than half of Britons have sex at least once a week with "the busyness of modern life" said to be one of the main causes, a study has found.

The results, published in the British Medical Journal, also show rates are declining.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analysed data from more than 34,000 men and women aged 16 to 44, who completed the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) in either 1991, 2001 or 2012.

The results showed a general decline in sexual activity in Britain between the second and third surveys.

The steepest falls in sex frequency were among the over-25s and people who are married or living together, while the proportion wanting intercourse more often is rising.


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.

The proportion reporting no sex in the past month fell across both genders between 1991 and 2001, from 28.5% to 23% in women, and from 30.9% to 26% in men.

But it increased significantly in the final 2012 survey to 29.3% in women and 29.2%.

The amount of people who reported having sex 10 times or more in the past month increased between 1991 and 2001 from 18.4% to 20.6% in women, and from 19.9% to 20.2% in men.

It fell in the final survey to 13.2% in women and 14.4% in men.

The most recent survey showed 41% of men and women had sex once a week or more in the last month.

Image: People are said to be having less sex because of the stresses of modern life

Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the authors said: "Our data show that sexual frequency fell in Britain between Natsal-2 (2001) and Natsal-3 (2012).

"The most recent Natsal 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."

The three surveys asked people about vaginal, anal or oral sex with opposite or same-sex partners.

Among both men and women who were married or living together, the odds of reporting sex 10 or more times in the past month were roughly halved.

Declines of this magnitude were not seen among single people, suggesting the trend towards lower sexual frequency overall is largely due to the decline among sexually active married or cohabiting couples, the authors said.

However, the data also shows that half of all women (50.6%) and almost two-thirds of men (64.3%) said they would prefer to have sex more often, particularly those who were married or living together, which the reports said "merits concern".

In the research paper, the authors also suggested that gender equality "may now extend to the sexual sphere".

They said: "Where women might previously have felt obliged to meet their partner's sexual needs irrespective of their own, they might now be less inclined to do so.

"Most compelling among the explanations, perhaps, given the age and marital status of the people most affected, relates to the stress and 'busyness' of modern life, such that work, family life, and leisure are constantly juggled.

"Life in the digital age is considerably more complex than in previous eras, the boundary between the private space of home and the public world outside is blurred, and the internet offers considerable scope for diversion."