Study: German men have twice as many sexual partners as women

German men have twice as many sexual partners as women according to a study released on Thursday, leading researchers to believe that men are more prone to brag about their sexual experiences than women.

While men from Germany told a survey published in the weekly German-language medical magazine Deutsches Aerzteblatt that they have slept with ten people during their lives, women said they had only had five partners.

Carried out by researchers at Braunschweig Technical University as well as psychologists from across Germany, the study on sexual behaviour in Germany was based on interviews with more than 2,524 people aged 14 and over.

The statistical difference between men and women could indicate that male respondents are exaggerating their sex lives, psychologists said.

"They act out their gender roles," said Arne Dekker from the Institute for Sexual Research and Forensic Psychiatry at the University Hospital in Hamburg.

Some men believe that it was attractive and in line with socially recognized norms to have many sex partners; women often had the opposite view, said Dekker, who was not involved in the study.

In addition, 21 per cent of the study’s male respondents admitted to cheating on their partners, while 15 per cent of women said they had not been faithful.