Sperm health
Sperm motility
Total motility and progressive motility are different. Reference limits are 42% and 30%. A percentage inside that range is not a fertility score.
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Short answer
Sperm motility is the share of sperm that move. Total motility includes all moving sperm and has a lower reference limit of 42%. Progressive motility includes sperm moving forward and has a lower reference limit of 30%. A result below either limit is below the current reference value. It is not a diagnosis of infertility.
Key takeaways
- Progressive motility is part of total motility, so it should not be the higher number.
- Motility declines if the sample is old or cold.
- Low motility has its own term, asthenozoospermia.
- Total motile sperm count multiplies motility by volume and concentration. It is a different statistic.
| Measurement | Reference value | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Semen volume | 1.4 ml or more | Within the current reference range at or above this value |
| Sperm concentration | 16 million/ml or more | Within the current reference range at or above this value |
| Total sperm number | 39 million or more | Within the current reference range at or above this value |
| Total motility | 42 % or more | Within the current reference range at or above this value |
| Progressive motility | 30 % or more | Within the current reference range at or above this value |
| Vitality | 54 % or more | Within the current reference range at or above this value |
| Normal morphology | 4 % or more | Within the current reference range at or above this value |
NICE also cites semen pH of 7.2 or more. These are lower reference limits, not a fertility diagnosis.
Two figures, two questions
A sperm can move without going anywhere useful. Non-progressive motility is movement that does not carry the cell forward. Total motility adds progressive and non-progressive movement. When a clinic talks about “how many sperm are swimming properly”, it often means progressive motility. When a calculator asks for “motility”, you need to know which of the two you are typing. The total motile count tool asks you to choose.
The reference limits
NICE quotes WHO: 42% or more total motility, and 30% or more progressive motility. The 2010 manual used 40% and 32%. Small shifts like that are a reason to read the manual named on your report, not a reason to treat a 41% and a 43% as different medical conditions.
When motility is low
Asthenozoospermia means reduced motility. Causes that clinicians ask about include a long delay before analysis, genital infection or inflammation, antibodies in some cases (NICE does not recommend routine antisperm-antibody testing), varicocele, and lifestyle or medicine exposures. Vitality testing helps if almost nothing is moving: it shows whether the sperm are alive. None of those possibilities should be self-assigned from a percentage.
Can motility be improved?
Some trials of antioxidants and of carnitine have reported changes in motility. A change in a semen parameter is not the same thing as a higher chance of pregnancy. The motility evidence page keeps those outcomes apart. Stopping smoking is supported as a general-health action. NICE says the link between smoking and semen quality is an association, and the impact on male fertility is uncertain.
Questions
Is 40% progressive motility good?
40% progressive motility is above the 30% lower reference limit, so it is within the current reference range. “Good” is not a WHO category. The rest of the report still matters.
Is 67% sperm motility good?
67% total motility is above the 42% lower reference limit, so it is within the current range for total motility. If the 67% is progressive motility, that is also above the 30% limit. Check which figure the report is naming. One percentage is not the whole analysis.
Related
Sources
- WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen, 6th edition — World Health Organization, 2021
- Fertility problems: assessment and treatment (NG257) — NICE, 2026
- NG257: investigation of fertility problems and management strategies — NICE, 2026
- Low sperm count — NHS
How this page was prepared
Drafted with automated research assistance and checked against the cited primary sources. A named clinician has not reviewed this page. Medical review is pending. Changes to reference values are not published automatically.