How often have women in the UK received oral sex in the last year?
Executive summary
Available surveys and secondary reports indicate that a clear majority of adult women in the UK report having received or engaged in oral sex within a 12‑month window, but estimates vary by age group and by study methodology; published figures cluster broadly between roughly 60% and 80% for adults under 55, with much lower prevalence among older cohorts (for example, ~19% in women aged 65+ in one UK survey) [1] [2] [3].
1. What the headline numbers say: most women report oral sex in the past year
Large, population‑style sexual behaviour surveys and repeat reporting in media summaries point to a majority prevalence: one UK survey series cited by the International Society for Sexual Medicine and related reporting found that between 67% and 80% of respondents had engaged in oral sex during the previous year (the coverage explicitly references UK survey data, Natsal‑style results) [1], and contemporary media summaries of more recent polls (Superdrug/online surveys reported in outlets like HuffPost and the Daily Star) place women in mid‑life cohorts reporting past‑year oral activity in the low‑to‑mid‑60s percent range (about 62–63% for women aged 45–54) [3] [2].
2. Age matters: steep decline in later life shown in multiple sources
Age stratification is consistent across reports: prevalence of receiving or performing oral sex falls with age, with younger and middle‑aged adults much more likely to report oral sex in the last year, while older groups report substantially lower rates—for example, a UK survey cited by the ISSM found roughly 19% of women aged 65 and older reported oral sex in the past year [1], and multiple outlets repeating Superdrug‑style polling show declines after mid‑life [2] [3].
3. Frequency estimates vary and few UK studies report exact ‘times per year’
Many of the sources focus on whether oral sex occurred in the past year rather than producing a precise annual count for UK women; market‑oriented pages and U.S.-centric analyses report average monthly frequencies (commonly ~5 times per month in mixed samples) but these are not UK‑specific and mix genders and sexual orientations, so they cannot be reliably transposed to a single UK women’s annual frequency without caveats [4] [5]. Some education/industry reports offer a weekly figure (about 25% incorporating oral sex at least weekly in mixed samples) but they aggregate international data and different relationship types, limiting direct applicability to UK women alone [6].
4. Methodology and definitional issues limit precision
Estimates differ because surveys ask different questions (ever had oral sex, past year, past month, performed vs received), combine giving and receiving, and sometimes conflate sex with gender categories in public datasets, a point raised in UK parliamentary discussion about data quality and definitions [7]. Secondary compilations and industry reports often lack transparent sampling frames or mix international samples, which inflates apparent certainty about a single UK rate [8] [6] [9].
5. Bottom line answer to the question — how often in the last year
A defensible, evidence‑based answer: a majority of adult women in the UK report receiving or performing oral sex in the previous 12 months, with survey‑based estimates typically in the 60–80% range for adults under about 55 and much lower prevalence in older women (for example, ~19% for women 65+) [1] [2] [3]. Precise counts of “how many times in the last year” for UK women as a single national figure are not robustly established in the provided reporting; available frequency figures come from mixed or non‑UK samples and should not be cited as a definitive UK annual number without clearer, primary UK frequency data [4] [5].
6. What to watch and where reporting can mislead
Be wary of single‑figure headlines that treat international or commercially sampled averages as representative of the UK adult female population: industry pages and media summaries often package varied studies together and present averaged “times per month” or enjoyment metrics that conflate giving/receiving, sexual orientation, and country of residence [8] [6] [9]. The most reliable route to a tighter UK estimate would be direct use of nationally representative surveys (Natsal or equivalent) reporting past‑year and past‑month prevalence broken down by age and by giving versus receiving; those are the only sources that can answer “how often” with population validity [1].