There are plenty of surveys and reports out there that rank Denmark high in liveability and happiness, but now there is also one showing Danes rank first when it comes to sex as well, for better or worse.

The YouGov survey, which explored sexual behaviour in 13 European countries, showed Danes were the most unfaithful, watched more pornographic films and had the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) of all the other countries polled.

Some 32 percent of the Danes participating in the study said they had been unfaithful, which ties them for first place with Finns, while they were undisputed champions when it came to one-night stands at 51 percent.

The Danes also finished in a tie for first, again with the Finns, when it came to watching pornographic films, at 63 percent. But when it came to having sex in public – called ‘dogging’ by those in the know – Danes held the top spot to themselves, with 41 percent saying they had done so.

According to Joan Ørting, a sex therapist, having sex in public has become so widespread that brochures about it that appeal to the “ordinary Dane” are readily available.

“Dogging is definitely becoming accepted by the general public, but it is something that we have always done, so it should be,” Ørting told metroxpress newspaper. “In the old days we did it all the time in the open, so it is more natural for us to lie in the grass rather than on a bed. That’s something we are discovering now and which is making us return to our roots.”

It is particularly women who are into sex in the open, according to Ørting, as they are more inclined to have sexual fantasies than their male partners.

“Women have that exhibitionistic side which is turned on by the possibility of being caught. For the man, it’s more about being able to take her up against a tree trunk,” Ørting told metroxpress.

But the promiscuous behaviour has a flipside to it. Denmark also leads Europe when it comes to STDs. Once again tied with Finland, 16 percent of Danes said that they’ve had a STD, considerably higher than the rest of Europe, where averages range from two to six percent.

And oddly enough, despite their dynamic sexual behaviour, Danes are among the least satisfied with their sex lives, with only the UK being less fulfilled. 

So, to sum up, Danes might be Europe’s sexual connoisseurs, but sometimes being on top isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.