What is the national average sex spend in the UK?

We estimate that it's about £6.57 per adult person per year in the UK. That's 10 times more than we spend on the monarchy in a year. And a lot more fun.

We divided the amount of money spent on sex-related products in the UK in a year (excluding porn!) and divided by the number of over-18s in the UK.

That's £315 million divided by 48 million people.

What products does that £315 million include?

Sex toys (vibrators, dildos and male masturbators), bondage gear, bedroom lingerie, sexy costumes, condoms, lubricants, erotic books, sex games, rude food and sexual health products.

All the fun stuff that goes to making our sex lives more enjoyable!

How did you work out that we spent £315 million on sex?

We know how many sex toys and how much lingerie we sell at LoveHoney and we know from internet traffic monitoring companies what share of the online market for sex products we have.

We also examined the accounts and company statements of other sex retailers (like Ann Summers) and manufacturers (like Durex), to work out how many sex products are sold in shops and supermarkets.

Where do the figures for the towns come from?

First we took an anonymous sample of more than 500,000 orders placed at LoveHoney. Then we aggregated the data into regions that match the population statistics from the UK Census.

We divided the amount of money spent in each region by the number of people who live there to tell us the average spend per head on all sex products.

Why does Upminster score so highly?

We don't know, ask someone who lives there! Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Upminster being top is that it's not remarkable at all.

There's nothing out-of-the-ordinary about Upminster - there's nothing out-of-the-ordinary about having a great sex life!

Why can't I find my town?

Only postcode areas that have 10,000 people can be found on the UK Sex Map. We've had to aggregate some areas and split other areas up.

If you can't find your town by typing its name in, try scrolling the map and zooming in to its region.

Can I see myself or my own house on the UK Sex Map?

No! All the data has been anonymised, aggregated and expunged of anything that can identify an individual, an address or the items that an individual ordered.

You can only zoom into Google Maps zoom level 9, where 1 pixel on your screen represents 300 metres on the ground.

We have been careful not to do the equivalent of showing someone coming out of a sex shop.

How often is the map updated?

We update it every month.

How can I contact you?

You can send us a message using our feedback form.

Journalists can contact our press office.