Germans are strong on romance, new book says
October 6, 2017
Germans in relationships are largely satisfied with both their partners and their sex lives, if a new book on love in Germany is to be believed.
The book, "Wir Deutschen und die Liebe" ("We Germans and Love"), is based on a large study by the polling institute YouGov in which more than 12,000 people were asked questions about their love lives, relationships and sexual preferences.
According to the survey, 72 percent of Germans say that their partner is the love of their lives and that they are sexually satisfied. But one in three Germans say they have had an affair at least once, with only two out of five daring to tell their partners.
Among singles, things are not quite as happy on the sexual front, with only 44 percent describing their sex lives as satisfactory.
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Marriage is still a popular form of partnership: 60 percent of Germans think it is good the way it is. However, a third would be interested in having "probationary marriages" that would automatically end if both partners did not extend them. The average age difference between partners in Germany is 5.8 years.
And Germans are a romantic lot: Nearly three-quarters say they are on cloud nine when they are in love, and 13 percent can think of nothing else.
Robot curiosity
The study shows that the average German has five sexual partners, with divorcees totting up a higher tally (8) than their married compatriots (5). Germans are also having their first sexual experiences earlier, between the ages of 17.1 (women) and 17.4 (men) on average.
And Germans are on average not particularly hurried when it comes to the act itself — the average length of intimate encounters is 15 minutes, with some connoisseurs (45 percent) adding 10 minutes of foreplay. The duration is adequate to the needs of 61 percent.
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The favourite positions were rather conservative, with the main three being "woman on man," "doggy style" and the classical missionary position. Two out of three said they had tried anal sex at least once.
Germans also seem eager to keep up to date in a technological regard: one-third of men say they would like to have sex with a robot if it felt "real". Women are less enthusiastic, with only 20 percent willing to try.
Other questions in the survey included how often people thought of sex, how frequently they had sex with their partner and how important sex was in their lives.