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How often do people have sex?

Looking at sex and statistics in Japan and America.

Magazine articles and advice columns are commonly littered with spurious statistics about how much sex we’re having. So how much do we really know – and what are the difficulties of collecting information about such an intimate part of our lives?

Doctor Marina Adshade from the Vancouver School of Economics, who specialises in the economics of sex and love, answers questions posed by a curious More or Less listener in Japan.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Jon Bithrey

(Photo: Happy couple looking into each other's eyes. Credit: Getty images)

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 Jun 202209:50GMT
BBC World Service

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Broadcasts

  • Sat 18 Jun 202204:50GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Sat 18 Jun 202222:50GMT
    BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
  • Sat 18 Jun 202223:50GMT
    BBC World Service Online, UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet & Europe and the Middle East only
  • Sun 19 Jun 202200:50GMT
    BBC World Service South Asia & East Asia only
  • Sun 19 Jun 202213:50GMT
    BBC World Service Australasia & News Internet only
  • Sun 19 Jun 202222:50GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Mon 20 Jun 202209:50GMT
    BBC World Service

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Podcast

  • More or Less

    Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life