The development of this resource was...

Created using:

Data from the fourth National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-4):

Natsal-4 was undertaken 2022-2024. The ‘Sex Stats for Britain’ tool includes data from 6,719 people aged 16-59 from across Britain who were invited to take part in Natsal-4 to provide a snapshot of sexual behaviours, sexual attitudes and sexual health outcomes that can be considered as broadly representative of people living in Britain at the time.

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Funded by:

The Wellcome Trust

Wellcome is a global charitable foundation that supports science to solve the urgent health challenges. The “Sex Stats for the British population” resource was funded by a Research Enrichment Public Engagement grant in conjunction with Wellcome’s main grant to support the Natsal Resource, grant number 212931/Z/18.

Wellcome website

The Open University

The Open University has pioneered distance learning for over 50 years, delivering exceptional teaching and outstanding support to students across the UK and the world. The “Sex Stats for the British population” resource is hosted by OpenLearn, The Open University’s free learning platform.

OU website

The original resource, created for Natsal-3, was created by: 

Professor Cath Mercer

Cath Mercer is Professor of Sexual Health Sciences at UCL and Co-Principal Investigator for Natsal-4 but has been part of the Natsal team since 2000 when she joined as Natsal-2’s statistician. Her research addresses a broad range of questions in order to benefit sexual health policy and practice, advance science and improve the public dialogue about sex.

Professor Jacqui Gabb

Jacqui Gabb is Professor of Sociology and Intimacy and has been studying personal relationships, gender and sexuality for over 20 years. Her research has informed school and youth services’ educational materials and adult relationship support services, and she is currently working on Paired, an app for couples.

Dr Mathijs Lucassen

A Senior Lecturer in mental health and an open media fellow at The Open University, Dr Mathijs Lucassen researches adolescent mental health, digital interventions, open and free learning as well as the health and wellbeing of sex, sexuality and gender diverse people.

The resource was updated for Natsal-4 by:

Philippa Waterhouse

Philippa Waterhouse is a Senior Lecturer in Health and Co-lead of the Health and Wellbeing Hub of the Centre for the Study of Global Development at The Open University. She has a background in social statistics and demography. Her research focuses on health, wellbeing and social inequality, with her current work focusing on young motherhood.

Soazig Clifton

Soazig Clifton is Academic Director for Natsal-4. She studies the connections between sex, health and society, and develops methods that improve how we measure and understand these aspects of people's lives. She holds joint affiliations at the University of Glasgow, University College London, and the National Centre for Social Research.

Claudia Gascoyne

Claudia Gascoyne is a Research Fellow in Epidemiology at the UCL Institute for Global Health and is also undertaking her PhD at the UCL School of Pharmacy. Claudia is passionate about women's health and dedicated to conducting impactful research that improves reproductive care.

Billie Turner

Billie Turner joined the Natsal team in 2026 ahead of the Natsal-4 launch, supporting the coordination of all aspects of knowledge mobilisation and stakeholder engagement activities to ensure Natsal-4 research evidence informs policy, practice, and public understanding of sexual and reproductive health. She previously worked on research exploring sexual wellbeing, particularly among young people. Before moving into academia, she worked as a sexual health improvement practitioner in local government and as a relationships and sex education specialist at Brook, delivering programmes across schools and youth services.

Ayomide Oluseye

Ayomide Oluseye is a Lecturer in Public Health and Co-lead of the Health and Wellbeing Hub of the Centre for the Study of Global Development at The Open University. Dr Ayomide Oluseye’s research focuses on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, young motherhood, and creative approaches to research in low- and middle-income countries.
Brook offers clinical sexual health services, education and wellbeing services for young people and has been a project partner for the “Sex Stats for the British population” resource.

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Driven by creativity and curiosity, Cardiff University strives to fulfil their social, cultural and economic obligations to Cardiff, Wales and the world.

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Established for over 26 years, S-Digital designs and develops web solutions that enable organisations to grow, improve their profitability and become more productive. The S-Digital team co-created the “Sex Stats for the British population” resource together with the academic, Brook, OpenLearn and other partners.

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Dean George

A Digital Content Producer from OpenLearn in Wales, Dean George produced the Welsh translation of the “Sex Stats for the British population” resource.

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Alison Tang

A Digital Content Producer from OpenLearn, home of the free learning from The Open University. Alison has a background in Design and enjoys creating engaging, educational content.

OpenLearn website

Ruby Taylor

Ruby Taylor is an Illustrator, Designer, Creator & Collaborator currently based in the UK.

Ruby's website