Women have more sex partners than men in these 11 states: Study

New Delhi: Women on average have more sex partners than men in 11 states and UTs but the percentage of men who had sexual intercourse with someone who was neither their spouse nor lived withstood at 4 percent, much higher than that of women at 0.5 percent, according to the NFHS data. The National Family Health Survey which was conducted among 1.1 lakh women and 1 lakh men showed that the number of sex partners on average for women was higher than for men in many states and Union territories.

These states and UTs are Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu. Rajasthan had the highest number of women who had on average 3.1 sex partners as against 1.8 for men.

But the percentage of men who had sexual intercourse with someone who was neither their spouse nor live-in partner, in the 12 months preceding the survey, stood at 4 percent. For women, the number stood at 0.5 percent.

The national report also provides data on socioeconomic and other background characteristics, useful for policy formulation and effective programme implementation.