As their incomes rise, both men and women are more likely to have a higher sex drive, according to a study of almost 30,000 people from 170 countries. Only among men, however, does this translate into more frequent sex: male high earners have sex significantly more often than those on lower salaries, but income makes little or no difference for women.

The findings, from an online survey conducted by the BBC, offer fresh evidence for the theory that women tend to be more attracted to men with money and resources, but that a woman’s wealth does not much affect her sex appeal to men. “Men accumulate resources, which they use to attract women,” John Manning, Professor of Psychology at the University of Central Lancashire, who analysed the results, said.

“When it comes to men with little by way of resources, women are just not interested in them at all. As a man’s earning power goes up, you would expect him to be having more sex and with more sexual partners.”

Feminine charms are little enhanced by income because men pay more attention to other qualities such as looks, Professor Manning said. “High income females are probably not having more sex than any other group.”

The increasing frequency with which high-earning men have sex is probably a direct result of their salaries, but the link between income and libido in both genders is more likely to have indirect causes, Professor Manning said. Sex drive in men and women is thought to be influenced by the male hormone testosterone, which is also associated with assertiveness. High levels of the hormone may make people more competitive and pushy, and thus more likely to earn more, while independently increasing their libido.

The study, which will be featured in a new BBC One series, The Secrets of the Sexes, analysed the responses given by 14,488 men and 14,032 women to an online questionnaire. Professor Manning’s team is submitting the results for publication in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour and has just received a further 255,000 responses for examination.

Participants were asked to place themselves into one of four income groups and to rate their sex drive and the frequency with which they have sex on a scale of one to seven. The questionnaire did not identify the number of sexual partners, but the results were adjusted to take age into account.

Men had a higher self-rated libido than women in all the income groups, but in both sexes their scores increased markedly with rising salaries. Male frequency of sex also rose significantly with income: men earning more than £50,000 scored 3.64 compared with 2.69 for men earning less than £10,000.

Among women, income made little difference. Those earning less than £10,000 had sex somewhat less frequently but scores for women in the other three categories were very similar.

The research has limitations because it relies on people’s ratings of their own behaviour and participants were not randomly selected, but its findings are in tune with those of smaller but more rigorous studies.

An analysis of 10,000 men and women from 37 different cultures by David Buss of the University of Texas found a distinct pattern to male and female preferences. Women were much more likely to favour mates with a high income and social status, but these qualities mattered little to men.

A study of lonely hearts advertisements led by Robin Dunbar, of the University of Liverpool, has shown that men tend to emphasise qualities such as their income and professional status, but women are more likely to claim good looks or slim figures. Women are also more likely to say that they are looking for a professional and men are more likely to insist on an attractive partner.

Evolutionary theory suggests that these different preferences reflect underlying aspects of biology. “Men can inseminate an almost infinite number of women, while women are much more limited in the number of offspring they can have,” Professor Manning said. This may influence women to be more picky in their choice of mate, seeking out high-status, wealthy men who will be better able to provide for any children.

The study found that women, on average, believe that they will have 1.9 sexual partners during the next five years but men believe that they will have almost double that, with 3.4. Almost 70 per cent of women said that they needed to feel emotional attachment to a partner before having sex, but only 47 per cent of men agreed.

The Secrets of the Sexes starts on BBC One at 9pm tomorrow. Readers can participate in the survey at www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sex

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