Sixty-four percent of South Africans have had unprotected sex without knowing their partner’s sexual history, according to the Durex Global Sex Survey.
“When compared to last year’s results, this statistic is higher, which means that South Africans continue to take risks and put their lives in danger,” said a statement from Durex.
The online survey, conducted for the ninth time, found that 10% of respondents in South Africa have had unprotected sex when they thought they may have had a sexually transmitted infection.
Nineteen percent of respondents are too scared to test for HIV/Aids, even though they suspect they may have the virus.
The survey also found that 59% of those who completed the survey have had sex with a stranger and 30% of men admit to having had an extra-marital affair compared with 20% of South African women.
South Africans believe that sex education should start around the age of 11. At the moment they receive their first sex education at the age of 13,3 years.
South Africans also found sex education in school more important (35%) than research for a cure for HIV/Aids (16%). Twenty-seven percent of South Africans who answered the survey had an unplanned pregnancy or a sexual transmitted disease.
Twelve percent of South Africans said that they have not heard of sexual transmitted diseases such as chlamydia, genital warts, gonorrhea, hepatitis, herpes and syphilis.
South Africans have sex about 109 times a year — above the global average of 103. This is short of Greece, which tops the list at 138, but ahead of Japan, the lowest at 45 times a year.
Nearly a third (30%) of the South African respondents also admitted to having had sex at their work place.
Favourite places for sex outside the bedroom are: the car, (74%), followed by toilets (47%), the garden (46%) parties (44%), nightclubs (37%) and in aircraft (4%).
The top three sexual enhancers in South Africa are pornography, lubricants and massage oils.
Forty one countries were included in the survey, and over 300Â 000 people took part.