Roughly 30% of men worldwide sit down to pee at least most of the time, though the number varies dramatically by country. A 2023 YouGov survey across 13 countries found that the share of men who “always” or “often” sit ranges from about 22% in Indonesia to 62% in Germany. In the United States, 30% of men reported sitting down always or often.
How the Numbers Break Down by Country
The 2023 YouGov study is the most comprehensive international dataset available, covering over a dozen countries. Germany leads by a wide margin: 40% of German men say they always sit, and another 22% say they often do. Sweden and Denmark follow, with about 36% and 33% of men sitting always or often. Australia comes in at 30%, roughly tied with the US and UK (both around 30%).
Countries in southern Europe and elsewhere cluster closer together. France, Spain, and Italy all land near 25-27%. Poland, the UAE, and Indonesia sit at the lower end, between 22% and 24%. Separate research from Japan found that about 39% of male patients at urology clinics reported urinating in a sitting position, though that sample skews toward men already dealing with urinary concerns.
Why Germany Is an Outlier
Germany has an entire cultural vocabulary around this topic. Men who sit to pee are called “Sitzpinklers,” a term that originally carried a mocking tone, implying the behavior wasn’t masculine. But the practice has become so mainstream that some German households and public restrooms post signs asking men not to stand. The domestic debate has essentially flipped: sitting is now the expected norm in many German homes, driven largely by cleanliness concerns. At 62% sitting always or often, German men are nearly twice as likely to sit as their American counterparts.
Does Sitting Actually Help Your Health?
For healthy men with no urinary issues, it makes almost no measurable difference. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in PLOS ONE compared bladder function in both positions and found that for healthy men, urine flow rate, voiding time, and the amount of urine left in the bladder afterward were essentially identical whether sitting or standing.
The picture changes for men with prostate enlargement or other lower urinary tract symptoms. In those men, sitting reduced the volume of urine left in the bladder after voiding by about 25 milliliters compared to standing. That matters because incomplete emptying can increase the frequency and urgency of bathroom trips and raise the risk of urinary tract infections. Flow rate also trended higher while sitting for these men, though the improvement didn’t reach statistical significance in all studies.
A separate study looking at men who habitually sit found that younger men and those with stronger baseline flow had noticeably better results sitting down, including higher peak flow rates and less residual urine. For men with already-weak flow, the position didn’t make much difference either way. The practical takeaway: if you’re under 50 and healthy, the position is purely a matter of preference and hygiene. If you’re older or have been told you have an enlarged prostate, sitting may help you empty your bladder more completely.
What’s Driving the Shift
The trend toward sitting has been growing for years, and it’s not primarily about health. Most men who switch cite cleanliness as the main reason. Standing produces splash and mist that coats the toilet, floor, and nearby surfaces, something that becomes harder to ignore when you’re the one cleaning the bathroom. Shared living spaces, smaller apartments, and partners who object to the mess all push men toward sitting.
Age plays a role too. Older men are more likely to sit, partly because of prostate changes that make standing less practical, and partly because nighttime bathroom trips are easier and safer when you don’t have to aim in the dark. The Japanese clinical study found that sitting was more common among older patients, consistent with the pattern seen in survey data from other countries.
There’s also a generational component. Younger men in northern Europe report sitting at higher rates than previous generations did, suggesting the stigma is fading in those cultures. In the US and UK, the shift is slower but moving in the same direction. The 30% figure in the US today would have been notably lower a decade ago, though direct historical comparisons are limited by differences in how surveys were conducted.