Half of those surveyed do not wear condoms during sex with new partners, with the young showing cavalier attitude.
WHEN it comes to having sex, Singaporeans rank last among 22 countries. But that's not the bad news.
It's the confession that many do not wear condoms when they have sex with new partners.
This worrying picture, painted against the backdrop of a growing world Aids epidemic, emerged from the findings of an Internet survey which condom maker Durex released yesterday.
The Durex Global Sex Survey, in which about 50,000 young people took part, reports that, on average, Singaporeans have sex 110 times a year. The French top the list, doing it 167 times a year.
But the Singaporean's low sexual activity is not exceptional.
Generally, countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Taiwan, India and Thailand, have low frequencies: about 120 times a year.
But unlike many in the region, Singaporeans seem unusually cavalier in the way they brazenly admit they do not practise safe sex.
Half of the 868 Singaporeans, aged from 16 to above 30, who took part in the survey, said they go without protection.
Those younger than 21 are especially indifferent.
Nearly half of them - 47 per cent - say they did not wear condoms with recent new partners, when they took part in the survey held between August and September this year.
Gilbert Toh, a 17- year-old student interviewed last night, seems typical.
He told The Straits Times: 'My friends and I don't wear condoms because it is more enjoyable.
'We are not worried, because the health care system is so good here and Aids is not a big problem in Singapore.'
Gilbert's view reflects that of youths here, as the survey found that only a third, or 32 per cent of all the Singapore respondents feel that Aids or HIV infection is a serious problem here.
'It clearly shows how complacent we are,' said an irked Mr Benedict Jacob-Thambiah, administrator for the Action For Aids.
The total number of Singaporeans who have been infected with HIV is 1,788. Of these, 686 have died and 421 have full-blown Aids.
Many of the men got it from sex with strangers.
Every year, the bulk of the more than 200 people here who get infected with the Aids-causing virus are men who have casual sex, and sex with prostitutes here and overseas.
As a result the health authorities will from next year give men who travel alone to HIV-prone places a travel pack with condoms and information on the dangers of casual sex.
And Durex is now working with Action For Aids to conduct talks for national servicemen in the Army and Navy.
Doctors and Aids activists, however, caution against reading too much into the survey findings.
Said Associate Professor Ganesan Adaikan, president of the Asian Federation of Sexology: 'The survey does not specify the social-economic background of the respondents and does not say if they are married or unmarried.'
But they all agree that it at least provides a rough guide to the sexual attitudes among the young, which could be useful when planning for education and awareness programmes.