Original Saucy Dates research · 1,715 respondents
Do men exaggerate penis size? Claims versus estimates
Men reported an average of 7.00 inches; women estimated 6.61 inches in our survey of 1,715 people. That 0.39 inch gap raises an interesting question: how much does reported penis size reflect measurement, memory or exaggeration?
The survey compared 953 men’s answers about themselves with 762 women’s recollections of their last male sexual partner. Below, explore the original country figures, infographic and distribution charts, alongside a clearer explanation of what the findings can, and cannot, tell us.
Survey results · Measured average penis size · Infographic · Distribution charts · Common questions
1,715 people
The original survey included 953 male and 762 female respondents.
7.00 versus 6.61 inches
The global male claim was higher than the female estimate by 0.39 inches, approximately 0.99 cm.
A 5.6% gap
The published global difference expresses the gap as a percentage of the male average. It is not the percentage of men who lied.
How the penis size survey worked
The original survey asked two questions:
- Men: “What is the size of your penis?”
- Women: “What was the size of the penis of the last man you had sex with?”
The results were presented as claimed erect penis lengths. Answers were compared globally and for selected countries. The global results include countries beyond those listed individually.
This is an archived survey, not a new clinical study. The original article does not supply collection dates, country sample sizes, a standardised measurement procedure or confidence intervals. The men and women were not identified as matched partners, so the two groups may be describing different people.
Neither group’s answers were independently measured. Women’s recollections are not a verified baseline against which every male claim can be judged. The survey reveals differences in reported averages; it cannot determine who exaggerated deliberately.
Average claimed penis size by country: original results
Lengths are in inches. The table reproduces the lengths and percentages shown in the original 2017 infographic. The percentage column contains the infographic’s published figures.
| Country | Male claim (inches) | Female estimate (inches) | Published difference* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 6.84 | 6.96 | minus 1.6% |
| United Kingdom | 6.89 | 6.64 | 3.6% |
| United States | 7.24 | 6.64 | 8.3% |
| India | 6.07 | 6.30 | minus 3.8% |
| Australia | 7.09 | 5.58 | 17.5% |
| Global | 7.00 | 6.61 | 5.6% |
*Percentages reproduced from the infographic. Its “Exaggeration” figures describe the published comparison between male claims and female estimates, rather than the proportion of respondents who lied. Negative values indicate a higher female estimate.
Do these results prove that men exaggerate?
The male global average was higher, but several explanations remain possible. Respondents may have rounded to a familiar number, estimated without measuring, remembered a partner imperfectly or interpreted the question differently. People comfortable answering a size survey may also differ from those who choose not to respond. These are possible sources of bias, not explanations established by this study.
Deliberate exaggeration is another possibility, but the survey cannot separate it from those alternatives. It also cannot tell us what proportion of men exaggerated, whether a particular person was accurate or whether someone claiming a larger size was more honest.
For that reason, subtracting 5.6% from an individual’s claim would misuse a group comparison. An average difference is not a correction formula for a partner or a dating profile.
What is the average measured erect penis size?
Measured research is a different kind of evidence from an online claims survey. A 2015 systematic review by Veale and colleagues reported a mean erect length of 13.12 cm, approximately 5.17 inches, from 692 professionally measured erect length observations. The review included up to 15,521 men across its different measurements; that larger total was not the erect length sample.
This provides a measured reference rather than a current universal value. Estimates depend on the populations and methods studied. An average is not a target, a minimum requirement or a judgement about someone’s body.
Both global averages in the Saucy Dates survey are above that review’s erect length mean. Because the studies involved different people and methods, the comparison cannot quantify how much either survey group exaggerated. It does show why self reports and recollections should not be presented as clinical measurements.
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The original penis size exaggeration infographic
The original infographic presents the survey visually. Published in 2017, it is the source for the country figures and percentages reproduced in this article.
Embed this infographic on your website
Copy the code below to include the graphic with a source link. Please credit Saucy Dates and describe the figures as reported claims and estimates from the 2017 infographic.
What the country comparisons show
Canada
The table reports 6.84 inches from men and 6.96 from women. The female estimate is higher, but that does not establish that Canadian men are more modest or honest. The infographic lists a difference of minus 1.6%.
United Kingdom
Men reported 6.89 inches and women 6.64 inches, with a published difference of 3.6%. The female estimate matches the US figure in this table; equal means do not require identical distributions.
United States
The male average of 7.24 inches is the highest among the listed countries, compared with a female estimate of 6.64. The difference is 0.60 inches and the published relative gap is 8.3%. This is a result within the survey, not evidence of a national character trait.
India
Men reported 6.07 inches and women 6.30. The published difference is minus 3.8%. As with Canada, a higher female estimate does not verify either group’s answers or establish unusual honesty.
Australia
The table lists 7.09 inches from men and 5.58 from women. The infographic lists a difference of 17.5%, the largest positive percentage in its country comparison. These are reported claims and estimates, not independently measured lengths.
Global results
The global averages are 7.00 and 6.61 inches, with a published difference of 5.6%. They include other countries and should not be reconstructed by simply averaging the five country rows.
Penis size distribution: why averages are not the whole story
An average compresses many answers into one number. Distribution charts show how responses were spread across the offered sizes, making it easier to see where the two groups gave similar or different answers.
The original commentary interpreted agreement at 8 inches and above as evidence of honesty. That conclusion does not follow from this design: similar frequencies in different groups are not matched measurements of the same men. Likewise, separation between the curves does not identify which group is inaccurate or why.
UK and US distributions
The country chart illustrates how two groups can have the same mean while their answers cluster differently. The original discussion highlighted more 8 inch responses among US women and more 6 inch responses among UK women. Those patterns describe the answers, not independently confirmed anatomy.
The survey did not offer answers below 1 inch or above 12 inches. Responses can therefore accumulate at those endpoints. The chart cannot establish the actual prevalence of extreme measurements, and the old claim that one in twenty UK men had a 12 inch penis should not be treated as a verified population statistic.
What this means for dating and body confidence
A survey about size can be entertaining, but it should not become a ranking of people’s bodies or a shortcut for judging a nationality. The useful lesson is to distinguish a claim, a remembered estimate and a standardised measurement.
When getting to know someone, honest conversation about attraction, comfort and expectations is more useful than trying to fit them to a country average. Nobody owes a date a measurement or an intimate photograph to prove a claim. Respecting boundaries matters more than winning a comparison.
Frequently asked questions about penis size claims
Do men exaggerate penis size?
In this survey, men’s global average claim exceeded women’s average estimate. That is consistent with several possibilities, including exaggeration, but the unmatched, unverified answers cannot establish how many men exaggerated or whether any individual lied.
What was the average penis size claimed in the survey?
Men reported 7.00 inches globally and women estimated 6.61 inches for their last male partner. These are reported values from 1,715 respondents, not a clinical measurement of average penis size.
What does the 5.6% figure mean?
It is the 0.39 inch gap divided by the male average of 7.00 inches, rounded to one decimal place. It is neither the percentage of men who lied nor a reliable adjustment to an individual claim.
Can this survey rank countries by actual penis size?
No. The answers were not independently measured, country sample sizes were not published. The results compare survey responses rather than verified national averages.
Are women’s estimates more accurate?
The survey cannot establish that. Recalling a partner’s size is different from measuring it, and the men and women were not identified as matched couples.
Using the research in articles and media
Please credit Saucy Dates and link to this report when using the survey or infographic. Describe it as an archived survey of 1,715 people, 953 men and 762 women, and distinguish self reported claims from measured research.
Use the infographic’s published figures and make clear that the answers were not independently measured. For questions about the original findings or commissioning further research, contact us.
More dating research
Size estimates do not tell us how someone rates a partner. Explore our best and worst lovers survey by country for those ratings, or read how long sex lasts versus how long people want it to last for another comparison between reports and expectations.
Explore our sex and relationships report covering 5,000 profiles, the survey of how far men would travel for sex, or more articles on the Saucy Dates blog.