Equality between men and women may boost their sexual live, so satisfaction in the bedroom is naturally lower in the male-dominated societies, U.S. researchers reported in the April issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Under the "Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors," a team of the University of Chicago surveyed 27,500 people, aged 40 to 80, from some 30 countries and regions.

The study found that couples who live in the Western countries and who have gender equality are most likely to report being satisfied with their sexual live.

In the Western nations, two-thirds of men and women reported satisfaction with their sexual relationships and 80 percent said they were satisfied with their ability to have sex. About half of men and one third of women said "sex was extremely or very important in their lives."

In contrast, people in countries where men have a dominant status over women -- such as East Asia and the Middle East -- reported less satisfaction with the physical and emotional quality of their sexual live.

In the Eastern Asian countries, about one quarter of men and women said they were satisfied with their sexual live, while two-thirds of men and half of women reported satisfaction with their ability to have sex. Only 28 percent of men and 12 percent of women said sex was important to them.

In the Middle East, 50 percent of men and 38 percent of women said they had satisfying sexual live and about 70 percent said they were satisfied with their ability to have sex. Sixty percent of men and 37 percent of women said sex was important to them.

The study said sexual satisfaction was the highest in Austria, the United States, Spain and Canada. Among the lowest were Japan and Taiwan of China. Turkey, Egypt and Algeria ranked in the middle.

Editor: Donald