Chinese have sex for the first time at an average age of 22.1
years, according to the 2007 Face of Global Sex report published on
Tuesday by the Durex Network.
The global average age is 17.
Professor Gao Ersheng from the Shanghai Family Planning
Institute said the mean age was about the same as that at which
people in China get married, although incidents of premarital sex
were on the rise.
"In urban China, the age at which people have their first sex is
probably lower than 22," he said.
The Durex report surveyed more than 26,000 people from 26
countries and found the global average age for first-time sex had
risen from under 16 to over 17 since last year.
The report found that while most respondents from Asian
countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia said they had their
first sexual experience later than their peers in the West, they
also said they were better prepared psychologically.
The report also showed that 81.5 percent of those polled had
used a form of birth control. China ranked in the top 3 in this
regard.
Women were found to be more likely to take precautions, as too
were people with a higher educational background.
People who feel able to communicate with their parents or other
family members on sex and health issues were also more likely to
use condoms, the survey said.
However, Gao said he believed no more than half of China's youth
used condoms or other precautions during first-time sex.
"According to earlier national surveys, only a quarter of those
having premarital sex for the first time used a condom," said
he.
In recent years, there has been more attention paid to raising
people's awareness of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS,
Gao said. This has led to the more widespread use of condoms in
urban China, but there has been no obvious rise in rural areas.
"Many youngsters believe their sex partners won't have an STD,"
Gao said, "and abortion seems easy - you hear commercials for
'painless abortions' quite often."
But among China's high-risk groups, such as sex workers, the use
of condoms has increased greatly, Gao said.
In another survey on sexual well-being by the Durex Network this
year, just 42 percent of Chinese people said they were completely
satisfied with their sex life. The satisfaction rate is lower among
women.
According to the report, Chinese have sex an average of 122
times a year - higher than the global average - but only 24 percent
said they reached orgasm every time. The global average is 48
percent.
(China Daily July 5, 2007)