Talking about money is Britain's last taboo

Britons would rather talk sex than money

Britons won't talk about one thing, and it's not sex (Getty Images)

British people are more likely to reveal bedroom secrets than the size of their salary, according to a new study.

After surveying 15,000 men and women, researchers from University College London found that people are seven times more likely to tell a stranger how many sexual partners they've had, whether they've had an affair, and whether they've ever contracted a sexually-transmitted disease than have a chat about their income.

In one of the world's most comprehensive studies about attitudes to sex, most participants were happy to open about their sex lives — just 3 per cent refused to answer the most intimate questions.

Around 20 per cent, on the other hand, resisted answering questions about their salary. When asked to reveal their total household income, many simply said no.

Researcher Soazig Clifton said: "Most people once they've started an interview with us, will tell us anything. They feel so liberated.

"They are loving talking to a stranger about sex. They'll tell us about their affairs, all of their partners, they'll tell us all kinds of different things but the one thing they won’t tell us is how much they earn."

She said this isn't the first study to find money more taboo in polite conversation than sex.

In their sex-centric interviews, researchers learned that the average woman has had four lovers — twice as many as she had 20 years ago, but two fewer than the average man.

Although Britons have more sexual partners, however, they're actually having sex less often. A similar survey from the early 1990s said people had sex five times a month; now they're only doing it three times.

The detailed data will be handed over to sex education an sexual health services.