What is loneliness, and how common is it in the UK?

Loneliness is the painful feeling of having less connection than you want. It is not the same as being alone, and it is far more common than most people admit. In the UK, roughly 1 in 14 adults says they feel lonely often or always, and around a quarter feel it at least some of the time. Those are big numbers, but they are also fairly steady ones, which matters when you read headlines about an epidemic.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you are struggling right now, Samaritans answers 24 hours a day, free, on 116 123.^[11]

What is loneliness?

Loneliness is a feeling: the WHO defines it as “the painful feeling that arises from a gap between desired and actual social connections”.^[1] It defines social isolation, by contrast, as the objective lack of sufficient social connections.^[1]

That distinction explains a lot. You can live alone, see few people and feel perfectly content. You can also be in a busy office, a marriage or a family home and feel deeply lonely, because the connection you have is not the kind you need. And being alone by choice is something else again: we look at that in is solitude good for you.

How common is loneliness in the UK?

7% of adults feel lonely often or always. That figure comes from the Office for National Statistics’ Opinions and Lifestyle Survey for 1 April to 28 June 2026, which covers adults in Great Britain.^[2] In the same survey:

• 7% felt lonely often or always
• 18% some of the time
• 27% occasionally
• 29% hardly ever
• 17% never^[2]

Put together, 25% felt lonely at least some of the time.^[2]

The government’s own survey for England agrees. The Community and Engagement Survey (which replaced the Community Life Survey in October 2025) found that 7% of people aged 16 and over felt lonely often or always between October 2025 and March 2026, no significant change from the year before.^[3]

Who is most likely to feel lonely?

Younger adults and disabled people, in the latest figures. In England in 2025/26, 9% of 16 to 24 year olds felt lonely often or always, compared with 4% of 65 to 74 year olds.^[3] That surprises people who picture loneliness as mainly a problem of old age. Disabled people were far more likely to report it than non-disabled people: 14% against 3%.^[3]

Children feel it too. In the most recent official analysis we could find, using 2018 survey data, 11.3% of children aged 10 to 15 in Great Britain said they were often lonely.^[5] Children who were less satisfied with their friendships, felt they had little choice in their lives or lived in relative poverty were more likely to say they were lonely.^[5] The data is now several years old, so treat it as a guide rather than today’s figure.

Is there a loneliness epidemic in the UK?

Not on the UK’s own numbers, if “epidemic” means a rapid rise. The share of adults in England who felt lonely often or always was broadly stable at 5 to 6% from 2013/14 to 2021/22.^[4] It was 6.6% in 2024/25, higher than in 2013/14 to 2017/18 (4.9 to 5.6%),^[4] and 7% in 2025/26.^[3]

So there has been a modest increase over a decade, and the absolute number is large: millions of people. But the trend is a slow drift, not an explosion. Globally, the WHO’s Commission on Social Connection reported in June 2025 that 1 in 6 people worldwide is affected by loneliness.^[1] The honest framing is that loneliness is a widespread, persistent public health issue, which is serious enough without the extra adjective.

What does loneliness do to your health?

It is linked to worse health, though the evidence is mostly observational. The WHO says loneliness and social isolation increase the risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline and premature death, and that lonely people are twice as likely to get depressed.^[1] It estimates loneliness is linked to more than 871,000 deaths a year worldwide.^[1]

The study behind many “loneliness kills” headlines is a 2010 meta-analysis of 148 studies and 308,849 people, followed for an average of 7.5 years. People with stronger social relationships had a 50% greater likelihood of survival.^[9] Three caveats matter:

• It measured social relationships broadly, not loneliness as a feeling.^[9]
• Many studies used single-question measures and did not capture the quality of relationships.^[9]
• It is observational: people cannot be randomly assigned to be isolated, so cause and effect are hard to prove.^[9]

A 2015 meta-analysis looked at loneliness specifically. After controlling for other factors, loneliness was associated with a 26% higher likelihood of death, social isolation 29% and living alone 32%.^[10] The same caveat applies: these are associations, and poor health can cause loneliness as well as follow it.

What has the UK government done about loneliness?

Three milestones. In January 2018, after the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, the Prime Minister named a minister as the government’s lead on loneliness, the role widely reported as the “Minister for Loneliness”.^[6] On 15 October 2018 the government published A connected society, which it describes as the world’s first government strategy for tackling loneliness.^[7] And on 15 June 2026 it published a Social Connection Framework: non-statutory guidance on identifying and supporting boys and young men at risk of loneliness and isolation.^[8]

None of this is law. The strategy and the framework are policy and guidance, not statutory duties.

What can you do if you feel lonely?

Start small, and start with people. Loneliness is a signal that a need is not being met, so the fix is connection, not willpower.

• Reach out to one person. A message, a call, a cup of tea. One conversation is worth more than an evening of scrolling other people’s lives, which often makes the feeling worse (our piece on how to stop FOMO covers why).
• Join something regular. A class, a choir, a walking group, volunteering. Repetition turns strangers into familiar faces.
• Make time alone a choice. Learning to enjoy your own company does not replace people, but it takes the sting out of quiet evenings. See how to be comfortable being alone.
• Talk to your GP if loneliness has lasted a long time or is affecting your mood or health. They can also point you to local groups.

If you are struggling to cope, Samaritans is free to call, day or night, on 116 123.^[11]