All those who cried hoarse about school-going children being corrupted by sex education have no reason to worry, as a new survey shows that the age for “first sex” among Indians is 22.9 years.

Globally, the average age at which people lose their virginity is 19.25 years, but there are significant differences between eastern and western countries with regard to the age, the study said. It’s not only Indians who want to lose their virginity when they are ready for the experience, but this is common to Asia, said the 2007 Face of Global Sex Report.

“People in Asian countries tend to have their first sexual experience at a much later age than those in the west. Chinese, Malaysians, Indians and Singaporeans are over 22 when they lose their virginity,” it said.

In China, the figure stands at 22.1, in Malaysia it is 23, while in Singapore it stands at 22.8 and in Thailand, it is 20.5, said the survey done by Durex Network, a social marketing arm of Durex Manufacturers SSL International, one of the leading makers of condoms in the world.

This is in contrast to countries like Austria, Brazil and Germany, where the mean age is below 18 years.

The survey showed that today’s youth are smarter than their grandparents as far as sex is concerned, with the use of contraceptives going up at least eight times. More people go in for contraceptives as compared to condoms, the study showed. In India, condom use is 39.7 per cent, while the highest use is in Poland at 63.2 per cent.

Over 67 per cent of youth in India used contraceptives while having sex for the first time, a figure higher than Nigeria (48.6 per cent), Russia (56.5 per cent), US (60.5), Canada (61.2) and France (61.8). The highest use of contraception is in Greece, where 88 per cent of youngsters used them during their first sexual encounter.

“Women are 25 per cent more likely than men to take precautions when they lose their virginity. This is also true for people who have spent some time at college compared to those who are less well-educated,” the survey said.

“Teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 years having first sex are at least eight times more likely to have used contraception for their sexual debut than were people now aged 65 years or over,” it said. The survey also looked at the role played by peer pressure in making youngsters lose their virginity.

In India, 19.5 per cent were influenced by this factor, while 37.5 per cent of youngsters felt the pressure in the rest of the world.

“Analysis of the data revealed that Nigerians are more likely to feel pressured into losing their virginity than any other country,” the survey found.

In Nigeria, the rate of pressure is 37 per cent compared to the global figure of 19 per cent. Rates in other countries ranged from 11 per cent in Malaysia to 27 per cent for Russians.

People in Thailand, Hong Kong, Nigeria and Japan were found to be the least ready for their first sexual experience. In these countries the rate of readiness was found to be less than 15 per cent.

Over 27 per cent of Indians felt ready for their first experience, while the survey found that Malaysians, who tend to lose their virginity at a later age, felt most ready for sex, with more than 40 per cent of them saying they felt prepared.

People in Netherlands, Greece and the US also reported high rates of readiness of over 37 per cent.