Aussies last longer in the bedroom than New Zealanders

A trans-Tasman sex survey has revealed Australians last longer in bed than New Zealanders. The survey by UMR asked respondents how long they typically last during sex.

Of those surveyed, 57% of Aussies said they have sex for 10 minutes or longer on average, while only 52% of Kiwis do. The survey found 33% of New Zealanders typically have sex for 10 minutes or less, compared to 31% of Aussies.

One in three New Zealanders and Australians have sex for 10 minutes or less on average. They are more likely to be New Zealand men.

Generational data from the survey suggests the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers have more quickies. They are more likely than any other generation to have sex for less than five minutes. Of respondents from the Baby Boomer generation 13% said sex usually lasts less than five minutes. Of the Silent Generation, 17% said sex lasts less than five minutes.

Generation X is more likely than other generations to have sex that lasts over 30 minutes. One in ten said 30+ minutes of sex is normal for them.

One in four of all respondents said 10-15 minutes is the ideal length of time for sex. 19% of respondents felt 15 to 20 minutes is the ideal length of time. A minimum of 10 minutes is ideal length for 69% of respondents from both sides of the Tasman.

Less than five minutes was only ideal for 4% of respondents from both countries.

With less time spent on pleasure during sex it’s unsurprising that only one in three respondents said they orgasm every time they have sex. Unsurprisingly they are more likely to be men.

Almost half of New Zealand and Australian men say they orgasm every time they have sex (49% each).

Only 16% of women orgasm during sex.

Adulttoymegastore Head of Customer Satisfaction Emma Hewitt says the orgasm gap is a well-known phenomenon but it seems particularly wide in New Zealand and Australia based on the survey.

"It's very sad to see only 16% of women are having orgasms during sex. The hope is that once the problem is acknowledged, people will work on it together. In every aspect of our lives we believe in health - but for some reason there isn't a focus on a healthy sex life."

"We need to ditch some of the Victorian-era attitudes we have around sex and admit that it's important to talk about. The more we talk about sex the better - we need to discuss pleasure and how important it is. There's nothing about sex or masturbation that is shameful. It would be great to see people openly talking about the orgasm gap so the stigma is removed. Many women feel there's something wrong with them if they can't climax - that's just not accurate! There's nothing broken about you if you can't orgasm, it's about communication with your partner and trying new things."

The survey found 83% of New Zealand men and 80% of Australian men orgasm most of the time, or every time, they have sex, only 50% of New Zealand women and 49% of Australian women orgasm most of the time, or every time, they have sex.

Women are less likely to orgasm during sex, with 26% of New Zealand women and 27% of Australian women stating they don't orgasm very often when they have sex. Men are much more likely to reach orgasm during sex throughout the generations.

Generational data shows Gen X comes before Z. Gen X men and women are more likely to orgasm during sex than any other generation (72% orgasm most of the time or every time they have sex).

Least likely to orgasm during sex is the Silent Generation (only 53% orgasm often during sex), closely followed by Generation Z (only 55% often reach orgasm during sex).

Baby Boomer men think their partners are having orgasms, but that's not quite the reality.

Gen Y are more likely than any other generation to both climax during sex with 59% of people reporting that they and their partner both climax during sex most of the time or more often.

Baby Boomer men are much more likely to think they climax most of the time or more often with their partner (51%) while only 32% of female baby boomers believe this to be true.

Generation Y has the highest percentage of people with partners that care about their sexual pleasure with 78% thinking it's important to them. Baby boomers are the least likely of all generations to have lovers that care about their sexual pleasure, with only 62% thinking their partner's sexual needs are important.

Adulttoymegastore Head of Customer Satisfaction Emma Hewitt says communication is the key to having a healthy sex life.

"You need to know that your partner is climaxing. And if they’re not - you need to be working out what you need to do together to address that. Penetration alone is not enough generally to deliver an orgasm for women. If you’ve reached your sixties and you’re still not sure if your partner is climaxing - it’s time to look at why that is. Sex isn’t a one-way street. You can’t just ignore your partner’s needs - no matter what your age."

Owner and operator of Adulttoymegastore Nicola Relph says she hopes the survey will open a conversation in New Zealand and Australia about sex, sexuality and sexual health.

"We put a lot of work into this survey because we really believe that talking about sex matters. When we hide away from discussing sex and sexuality we are contributing to a stigma that hurts everyone. Conversations about enthusiastic consent, sexual health, self esteem and pleasure are really important conversations to have. We hope the survey will be a springboard for people having some great discussions on how they can have a better balance in the bedroom."

Further information

Adulttoymegastore commissioned UMR to carry out this 2020 sex survey. UMR offers clients an extensive quantitative research suite covering telephone, online, and face-to-face collection. This survey covered 2500 respondents handpicked by UMR to cover age, gender and region in Australia and New Zealand.

Of the survey respondents:

42% were married

27% were single

15% were in a committed relationship and living together

7% were in a committed relationship and not living together

3% were recently divorced or separated

Adulttoymegastore is based in Wellington, New Zealand and is a world-wide adult toy online retailer.