Middle-aged and older people in Western countries were the first to take the contraceptive pill, challenge the institution of marriage and campaign for women's rights, and now they are continuing to reap the benefits of the sexual revolution.

A global study has found that people living in countries with high levels of gender equality enjoy the best sex, with the over-40s saying they are most satisfied. Middle-aged and older people who live in Western countries and who enjoy more equality between men and women are most likely to report being satisfied with their sex lives, according to the study.

In questionnaires carried out by urologists, psychologists, epidemiologists and sexologists, nearly 300,000 people in 29 countries were asked about how satisfied they were with their sex lives and relationships, and about their physical ability to have sex.

Nations categorized as having more "gender-equal" relationships are more likely to report having fulfilling sex lives in their later years. People in long-term relationships reported having the best sex but across all countries men are more likely to say they have a good sex life than their partners, who are consistently a little less pleased.

Austrians aged 40-80 claim to have the highest satisfactions with both their relationships and sex lives, followed by Canadians and Swedes.

While those in long-term relationships have the best sex lives, changing partners after your 40s is the best guarantee of cashing in on the sexual revolution, the Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviours finds. Edward Laumann, professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, the lead author of a paper on the study published yesterday in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour, said: "If you're dating from the age of 40-plus you have relatively better satisfaction than those who are married.

"People who are divorced or widowed are more likely to be physically active and capable of full sex lives.

"It's clear that sexual satisfaction plays a strong role in people's general happiness later in life and quality of relationships play a big role in that. But men and women evaluate sexual well-being differently. For women the quality of relationship is a much bigger component than men."

Clive Gingell, a UK-based urologist who worked on the study, which was funded by the drugs company Pfizer, said: "The majority of men and women are having an active sexual life past the age of 40 and up to their 80s. It's surprisingly high in all countries, with between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of people saying they have had sex in the previous 12 months."

He added: "This is the generation that changed society a huge amount and sex lives seem to be improving because of that."

Source:China Daily