Key points from the infographic
- NapLab’s Global Promiscuity Index scores 45 countries on six factors about sexual behaviour, attitudes and law, using figures it gathered from other websites and surveys [1].
- Australia ranks first with 360.14 points, followed by Brazil (340.66), Greece (336.53), Chile (334.64) and New Zealand (327.49).
- India ranks last with 169.73, just below China (170.04). Indonesia and Malaysia, which lose 25 points because premarital sex is illegal there, come 43rd and 42nd.
- The index is a NapLab ranking, not an official or academic measure.
Most promiscuous countries, the infographic in text
Title: Which Countries Are the Most Promiscuous? A world map shades the 45 ranked countries from Most Promiscuous (dark pink) to Least Promiscuous (pale pink), with an inset enlarging Europe.
The 6 promiscuity factors
- Mean age virginity was lost (100 points). As the mean age increases, the score earned decreases.
- Average number of sexual partners (100 points). As the number of partners decreases, the score also decreases.
- STD rate per 100,000 people (100 points). As the STD rate decreases, the score decreases.
- Percentage of people who think premarital sex between adults is morally acceptable or not a moral issue (100 points). As acceptance decreases, the score decreases.
- Is prostitution legal? (50 points). 50 points if legal, 25 if partially legal, 0 if illegal.
- Is premarital sex illegal? (minus 25 points). Countries that outlaw premarital sex had 25 points deducted.
The full index
A dash means no data was available for that factor. The highest figure for each factor is highlighted on the graphic: Iceland’s mean age of 15.6, Turkey’s 14.5 partners, South Africa’s STD rate of 32,054 and France’s 94% acceptance.
| Rank | Country | Mean age virginity lost | Average sexual partners | STD rate per 100,000 | Premarital sex acceptable | Prostitution | Premarital sex illegal | Index score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 17.9 | 13.3 | 14,454 | 81% | Legal | No | 360.14 |
| 2 | Brazil | 17.4 | 9 | 31,746 | 61% | Partially Legal | No | 340.66 |
| 3 | Greece | 18.1 | 10.6 | 11,458 | 86% | Legal | No | 336.53 |
| 4 | Chile | 17.2 | 10.1 | 20,573 | 80% | Partially Legal | No | 334.64 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 17.8 | 13.2 | 11,898 | – | Legal | No | 327.49 |
| 6 | Germany | 17.6 | 5.8 | 15,055 | 91% | Legal | No | 322.41 |
| 7 | Italy | 18.9 | 11.8 | 12,985 | 83% | Partially Legal | No | 317.73 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 18.2 | 11.1 | 13,524 | – | Legal | No | 316.16 |
| 9 | Thailand | 20.5 | 10.6 | 24,709 | – | Partially Legal | No | 312.99 |
| 10 | South Africa | 18.7 | 12.5 | 32,054 | 38% | Illegal | No | 310.05 |
| 11 | Czechia | 17.2 | 9 | 11,959 | 85% | Partially Legal | No | 305.50 |
| 12 | Finland | 16.5 | 12.4 | 12,087 | – | Partially Legal | No | 304.47 |
| 13 | United Kingdom | 18.3 | 9.8 | 10,887 | 82% | Partially Legal | No | 299.03 |
| 14 | Japan | 19.4 | 10.2 | 12,671 | 73% | Partially Legal | No | 292.95 |
| 15 | United States | 18 | 10.7 | 19,900 | 65% | Illegal | No | 291.69 |
| 16 | Netherlands | 18.1 | 7 | 14,363 | – | Legal | No | 290.97 |
| 17 | Mexico | 18.7 | 9 | 21,975 | 47% | Partially Legal | No | 289.05 |
| 18 | Denmark | 16.1 | 9.3 | 13,225 | – | Partially Legal | No | 288.99 |
| 19 | Iceland | 15.6 | 13 | 11,921 | – | Illegal | No | 288.55 |
| 20 | Canada | 18.1 | 10.7 | 13,543 | 81% | Illegal | No | 288.40 |
| 21 | Turkey | 17.8 | 14.5 | 13,059 | 7% | Legal | No | 285.83 |
| 22 | Sweden | 16.2 | 11.8 | 14,244 | – | Illegal | No | 283.81 |
| 23 | Spain | 19.2 | 6.1 | 11,624 | 91% | Partially Legal | No | 281.39 |
| 24 | Austria | 17.3 | 9.7 | 11,724 | – | Partially Legal | No | 280.35 |
| 25 | France | 18.5 | 8.1 | 11,989 | 94% | Illegal | No | 277.59 |
| 26 | Hungary | 18.4 | 6.6 | 11,229 | – | Legal | No | 277.03 |
| 27 | Norway | 16.5 | 12.1 | 11,930 | – | Illegal | No | 276.91 |
| 28 | Slovakia | 17.8 | 5.4 | 12,885 | – | Legal | No | 276.78 |
| 29 | Portugal | 16.9 | 7 | 13,290 | – | Partially Legal | No | 268.74 |
| 30 | Belgium | 17.2 | 7.5 | 11,997 | – | Partially Legal | No | 266.55 |
| 31 | Ireland | 17.3 | 11.1 | 11,450 | – | Illegal | No | 264.14 |
| 32 | Russia | 18.7 | 9 | 19,246 | 50% | Illegal | No | 258.72 |
| 33 | Israel | 16.7 | 10.6 | 9,455 | 58% | Illegal | No | 257.72 |
| 34 | Poland | 19 | 6 | 11,866 | 65% | Partially Legal | No | 254.65 |
| 35 | Singapore | 22.8 | 7.2 | 14,815 | – | Partially Legal | No | 250.99 |
| 36 | Croatia | 17.3 | 7.5 | 13,750 | – | Illegal | No | 246.49 |
| 37 | Taiwan | 18.9 | 6.6 | 18,042 | – | Illegal | No | 246.04 |
| 38 | South Korea | 22.1 | – | – | 56% | Illegal | No | 238.28 |
| 39 | Hong Kong | 20.2 | 3.7 | – | – | Partially Legal | No | 236.66 |
| 40 | Nigeria | 19.7 | – | – | 16% | Partially Legal | No | 229.33 |
| 41 | Vietnam | 19.7 | 3.2 | 19,382 | – | Illegal | No | 223.42 |
| 42 | Malaysia | 23 | 5.8 | 18,979 | 8% | Partially Legal | Yes | 175.55 |
| 43 | Indonesia | 19.1 | 5.1 | 17,855 | 2% | Partially Legal | Yes | 174.68 |
| 44 | China | 22.1 | 3.1 | – | 29% | Illegal | No | 170.04 |
| 45 | India | 22.9 | 3 | 10,763 | 21% | Partially Legal | No | 169.73 |
Things to note, as printed
- The top-scoring number for each factor is highlighted.
- Countries without data for certain factors were given a mid-range score to have less effect on their final score.
- Indonesia passed criminal codes outlawing sex outside of marriage in December 2022, while Malaysia has criminalised premarital sex for its many Muslim citizens who are bound by sharia, Islamic law.
- South Africa was the only country on the list with an HIV prevalence higher than 0.82%, at 14.75%; NapLab deducted 14% from its overall STD rate of 37,273 per 100,000 and used 32,054 per 100,000 for a more direct comparison.
Sources printed on the graphic: Daily Star, indy100, World Population Review, Wisevoter, Pew Research Center, the Institute of Development Studies and Fodor’s. The naplab logo sits at the bottom right.
How the index was built
NapLab says it created its own index because the most recent study of worldwide sexual promiscuity was more than a decade old [1]. It scored each country on the six factors and added the scores, so the total reflects NapLab’s chosen weighting: four factors worth up to 100 points, prostitution law worth up to 50, and a 25 point deduction where premarital sex is illegal [1].
The factors come from very different kinds of data. The age and partner figures are survey averages reported by news and ranking sites, the STD rates are national estimates, and the attitude figures come from Pew Research Center’s Global Morality feature, published in April 2014 [3]. Combining these into one score is the makers’ choice, and a different weighting would give a different order.
STI rates in context
The STD column is the one health measure in the index. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1 million curable sexually transmitted infections are acquired every day worldwide among people aged 15 to 49, most of them without symptoms [2]. Rates partly reflect how much testing and reporting a country does, so a higher rate does not by itself show different behaviour.
Notes on this infographic
- Wording. The words promiscuous and promiscuity are the index’s own labels and are kept as printed.
- Missing data. 20 of the 45 countries have no attitude figure, and South Korea, Hong Kong, Nigeria and China lack one or more other figures. Their mid-range substitute scores affect their ranks.
- Mixed dates. The inputs come from sources published in different years; the Pew attitude data, for example, was published in 2014 [3]. The graphic does not give a year for each figure.
Questions about the most promiscuous countries
What is the most promiscuous country in the world?
In NapLab’s Global Promiscuity Index, Australia ranks first with 360.14 points. NapLab puts this down to an average of 13.3 sexual partners, 81% of people saying premarital sex is acceptable or not a moral issue, and legal prostitution [1].
Which country is the most sexually liberal?
The index does not measure that directly. On its attitude factor, France has the highest share of people who say premarital sex between adults is acceptable or not a moral issue, 94%, followed by Germany and Spain at 91% [1]. France ranks 25th overall because of its other factors. At the other end, India ranks last of the 45 countries with 169.73 points [1].
Sources
- NapLab, Which Countries Are the Most Promiscuous?, the creator’s page with this infographic and the full index.
- World Health Organization, Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) fact sheet.
- Pew Research Center, Global Views on Morality, cited on the graphic as its source for attitudes.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026
