People who live in the northern part of Malta watch pornography the most, while people who live in the southern harbour area have sexual intercourse most frequently, according to the first study of its kind for Malta.

The study was conducted by Sagalytics and Sex Clinic Malta, and sheds light on a broad range of people’s sexual behaviours.  It compares the results to international studies while aiming to reduce stigma on sexuality.

In the study, 53% of respondents said they watch or have watched pornography, and roughly just as many said they occasionally masturbate alone. And of those who watch pornography and have a partner, a significant 74% said their partner is aware that they watch porn.

The study reveals that eight out of every 10 people living in the north – namely in Għargħur, Mellieħa, Mġarr, Mosta, Naxxar and St Paul’s Bay – said they watched pornography.

On the other hand, while sexually active people in Malta have sex six times a month on average, people living in the southern harbour area – namely in Valletta, the Three Cities, Fgura, Floriana, Luqa, Żabbar, Kalkara, Marsa, Paola, Santa Luċija, Tarxien and Xgħajra – have sexual intercourse around eight times a month on average, making them the most sexually active region in the country.

People who live in the northern harbour region – namely in Sliema, St Julian’s, Birkirkara, Gżira, Qormi, Ħamrun, Msida, Pembroke, San Ġwann, Santa Venera, St Julian’s, Swieqi, Ta’ Xbiex and Pietà – have sexual intercourse a little over six times a month, and so do the people in the north and the western region, which consists of Dingli, Balzan, Lija, Attard, Żebbuġ, Iklin, Mdina, Mtarfa, Rabat and Siġġiewi.

The Gozitans scored below average. They said they have sexual intercourse less than four times a month, and people in the south eastern region – meaning in Birżebbuġa, Gudja, Għaxaq, Kirkop, Safi, Marsascala, Marsaxlokk, Mqabba, Qrendi, Żejtun and Żurrieq have sex even less. The study shows they live in the least sexually active region.

Only four out of 10 Gozitans who took the survey admitted to watching pornography, the least in the country.

“We are publishing these figures to help people understand that they are not alone – that Maltese people are as sexually active as much as their European counterparts, and that their sexual habits are probably common among the local population and should not be a stigma to talk about,” sex therapist Matthew Bartolo explained.

15,000 telephone calls made

The study was conducted last summer among a representative sample of 400 participants aged 18 and over, and the results were analysed based on age, gender and districts. The study boasts of a 95% confidence interval.

Researchers found it hard to find enough participants who were willing to open up about their sexual life.

They reported having to call around 15,000 people before they could complete a 400-participant sample that was representative of the population – seven times as many telephone calls usually needed to complete an election survey.

“The challenge was also somewhat different than usual because while young people are usually much more reluctant to participate in election surveys, this time round it was the older generation who found it hard to open up,” researcher Vincent Marmarà explained.

Sexual habits should not be a stigma to talk about

The study also revealed a shifting trend in the way the population views sex. Researchers asked respondents to say what they think sex is, and let participants come up with their own definitions without prompting them.

Only 0.5% said that sex means ‘reproduction’ to them, and almost one out of every 10 said it meant a ‘sexual act between a male and a female’ – indicating that almost a tenth of the population still thinks of sex as an exclusively heterosexual act.

Most people ‘very happy’

The study also reveals that most people in Malta are ‘very happy’ with their sexual life and are ‘very comfortable’ speaking to their partner about sexual-related matters.    Only three per cent of respondents said they are not happy at all with their sexual life and just as many said they are not comfortable speaking about sex with their partner.

However, Bartolo and Marmarà believe reality might be a little bleaker in this case.

They said this seemingly positive result could possibly have emerged because the participants who took the survey were more comfortable opening up about their sexual habits, which means they are likely also comfortable opening up with their partners and are likely satisfied with their sexual life.

Six times a month

The study shows that people who watch pornography and masturbate do so around six times a month, and Bartolo said the figures tally with similar international statistics – meaning that Maltese people have sexual habits that are roughly at par with most populations in the western world.

Men admitted to watching pornography far more than women. 73% of men said they watched pornography and only 33% of women confessed to it, but Bartolo believes the real number for women is likely higher. And students who watch pornography said they did so around 18 times a month.

Increasing pornography consumption has been a growing concern, especially among therapists who report having seen children start watching porn before they are even teenagers – a phenomenon which they say causes mental distress and problems in finding sexual satisfaction in real-life relationships.

“In clinical practice, we have seen children start watching porn at age 12, and some start even younger,” Bartolo said.

Many elderly would like more sex

Among those who are 66 and over, almost three out of every 10 said they watched porn. They are also among the least satisfied with their sexual life and among the people who have sex the least. But almost half of them admitted that they would like to have more sex.

The study also found that four out of every 10 married people watch porn, and so do seven out of every 10 people who are in a relationship.

Separated and divorced people who admitted to watching pornography said they do so around 25 times a month.

The study also looked at contraceptive use, infidelity in relationships, the frequency of threesomes in Malta, the average age of people who have sex for the first time, and the number of sexual partners that people usually date in their lifetime. The second set of figures will be published in the coming days.

Find a comprehensive list of figures and results here.