Loneliness and social isolation statistics

Updated October 2026

The World Health Organization estimates that loneliness affects 1 in 6 people worldwide ¹. Loneliness and social isolation are related, but they are not the same thing. The World Health Organization describes loneliness as the painful feeling that arises from a gap between desired and actual social connections. Social isolation means having too few social connections, whatever a person feels about it.

A person can live alone and not feel lonely. Another can feel lonely in a crowded home. So this page keeps the two apart.

Surveys ask about loneliness in different ways. Some ask one direct question, some use a short scale, and some ask how often people feel isolated. For a plain explanation of the feeling itself, see our guide to loneliness.

Getting help

If something on this page reflects what you are going through, you do not have to manage it alone. Our guide to finding the right therapist explains how to choose someone qualified, and the TherapyRoute directory lists therapists in many countries.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, our list of helplines and crisis lines worldwide gives free services by country. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

Worldwide

The first estimates come from the report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection. The World Health Organization's news release does not give the years its data cover, the age band or the question asked for these figures. The regional figures for adolescents come from a review in the BMJ that pooled nationally representative surveys from many countries, meaning surveys that reflect each country's population. The World Health Organization notes that data on social isolation are more limited.

• The World Health Organization says about 24% of people in low-income countries reported feeling lonely. (published 2025, data year not stated) ¹
• The World Health Organization says about 11% of people in high-income countries reported feeling lonely. (published 2025, data year not stated) ¹
• The World Health Organization estimates that social isolation affects up to 1 in 3 older adults worldwide. (published 2025, data year not stated) ¹
• The World Health Organization estimates that social isolation affects up to 1 in 4 adolescents worldwide. (published 2025, data year not stated) ¹
• Pooled national surveys put loneliness at 14.4% among adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region (surveys from 2000 to 2019), the highest of the WHO regions pooled. (pooled from prevalence studies, published 2022) ³
• Pooled national surveys put loneliness at 9.2% among adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the WHO South-East Asia region (surveys from 2000 to 2019), the lowest of the WHO regions pooled. (pooled from prevalence studies, published 2022) ³

Health and early death

These figures are associations, not proof of cause. People who are ill may also become lonely or isolated. The review figures pool cohort studies that followed adults over time; the review's abstract does not give the years they cover. The depression figure comes from a single survey taken at one point in time.

• A review in Nature Human Behaviour of adults aged 18 or older in 90 cohort studies linked social isolation to a higher risk of death from any cause (pooled effect size 1.32). The effect size compares the risk in isolated adults with the risk in others; cohort studies follow the same people over time. (pooled from cohort studies, published 2023) ⁴
• The Nature Human Behaviour review of adults aged 18 or older in 90 cohort studies also linked loneliness to a higher risk of death from any cause (pooled effect size 1.14). (pooled from cohort studies, published 2023) ⁴
• The Nature Human Behaviour review of adults aged 18 or older in 90 cohort studies also linked social isolation to a higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease (pooled effect size 1.34). Cardiovascular disease means disease of the heart and blood vessels. (pooled from cohort studies, published 2023) ⁴
• Among adults in 26 US states, people reporting loneliness had a history of depression 2.38 times as often as others, after allowing for differences in demographic background, sexual orientation and gender identity. Loneliness here meant feeling socially isolated always, usually or sometimes. (survey, 2022 data) ⁵

Europe

England's figures come from the Community Life Survey, which asks adults how often they feel lonely. The European Union figures come from the EU statistics on income and living conditions. They measure support and contact with friends, which are signs of isolation rather than loneliness. The figures for older adults pool national surveys from groups of European countries.

• Among adults aged 16 to 24 in England, 9% said they felt lonely often or always in 2024/25. (survey, 2024/25 data) ²
• Among adults aged 65 to 74 in England, 4% said they felt lonely often or always in 2024/25. (survey, 2024/25 data) ²
• In England, 14% of disabled adults said they felt lonely often or always in 2024/25. (survey, 2024/25 data) ²
• In England, 3% of non-disabled adults said they felt lonely often or always in 2024/25. (survey, 2024/25 data) ²
• Among people aged 16 and over in the European Union, 11.2% said they had no one to rely on in case of need in 2022. (survey, 2022 data) ⁶
• Among people aged 16 and over in the European Union, 7.7% said they had no one to rely on in case of need in 2018. (survey, 2018 data) ⁶
• Among the fifth of people aged 16 and over in the European Union with the lowest incomes, 12.4% were in contact with friends less than once a month in 2022. (survey, 2022 data) ⁶
• Pooled national surveys put loneliness at 21.3% among adults aged 60 and over in eastern European countries (surveys from 2000 to 2019), the highest in Europe. (pooled from prevalence studies, published 2022) ³
• Pooled national surveys put loneliness at 5.2% among adults aged 60 and over in northern European countries (surveys from 2000 to 2019), the lowest in Europe. (pooled from prevalence studies, published 2022) ³

North America

The United States figures come from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on a state-based survey of adults in twenty-six states. That year, the survey asked how often people felt socially isolated, and the report treats the answer as loneliness.

• Among adults in 26 US states, 32.1% felt socially isolated always, usually or sometimes in 2022, which the report counts as loneliness. (survey, 2022 data) ⁵
• Among adults aged 18 to 34 in 26 US states, 43.3% felt socially isolated always, usually or sometimes in 2022, the highest of any age group. The report counts this as loneliness. (survey, 2022 data) ⁵
• Among adults in 26 US states, 24.1% reported a lack of social and emotional support in 2022. (survey, 2022 data) ⁵

South America

Brazil's figures come from a national study of ageing, which asked people living in the community one direct question about how often they feel alone or lonely.

• Among adults aged 50 and over living in the community in Brazil, 16.8% said they always felt alone or lonely, in a national survey in 2015-2016. (survey, 2015-2016 data) ⁷
• Among adults aged 50 and over living in the community in Brazil, a further 31.7% said they sometimes felt alone or lonely, in the same national survey in 2015-2016. (survey, 2015-2016 data) ⁷

Africa

South Africa's figure comes from a study of adults aged forty and over in rural South Africa (the HAALSI cohort, a study that follows the same people over time). It is not a national sample, and the abstract does not give the exact loneliness question.

• Among adults aged 40 and over in a rural cohort study in South Africa, 19.5% reported loneliness in the 2021/2022 survey. (survey, 2021/2022 data) ⁸

Asia

India's figures come from a national survey that asked middle-aged and older adults how often they had felt alone in the past week.

• Among adults aged 45 and over in India, 13.3% felt alone or lonely often, most of the time or all the time in the past week, in a national survey in 2017-2018. (survey, 2017-2018 data) ⁹
• Among adults aged 45 and over in India, a further 20.5% felt alone or lonely sometimes in the past week, in the same national survey in 2017-2018. (survey, 2017-2018 data) ⁹

Oceania

Australia's figures come from the national Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, reported by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Its isolation measure uses questions about social support, so it reflects how people see the support around them rather than how often they see others. A short scale of three statements measures loneliness.

• Among Australians aged 15 and over, an estimated 15% were experiencing social isolation in 2024, judged by low scores on questions about social support. (survey, 2024 data) ¹⁰
• Among males aged 15 and over in Australia, an estimated 18% were experiencing social isolation in 2024, judged by low scores on questions about social support. (survey, 2024 data) ¹⁰
• Among females aged 15 and over in Australia, an estimated 12% were experiencing social isolation in 2024, judged by low scores on questions about social support. (survey, 2024 data) ¹⁰
• In Australia, an estimated 15% of people in the national HILDA survey were experiencing loneliness in 2024, judged by a three-statement loneliness index. (survey, 2024 data) ¹⁰
• Among Australians aged 35 to 44, 17% were experiencing loneliness in 2024, the highest rate of any age group. (survey, 2024 data) ¹⁰

Loneliness in national and large surveys

These surveys asked different questions of different age groups, in different years. Read each row with its label, and do not rank the countries.

How to read these figures

Loneliness is a feeling, and social isolation is a lack of contact or support. A figure for one does not tell you the other.

A higher figure in one country may reflect a broader question, such as including people who feel lonely only sometimes. Compare figures only when the question and age group match.

Links between loneliness and early death or depression are associations from studies that observe people. They do not show that loneliness alone causes these outcomes.

A pooled effect size compares the risk of death in isolated or lonely adults with the risk in others. It is not the share of people who are lonely.

Loneliness can ease. The World Health Organization points to simple steps, such as reaching out to a friend, joining a local group or volunteering, and to psychological support when the problem is more serious.

If loneliness is affecting your mood or your health, a therapist can help you understand it and find ways to reconnect. Our guide on how to find the right therapist explains what to look for. If you are in distress or thinking about suicide, please seek help now: see our helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

Cite this page: TherapyRoute. Loneliness and social isolation statistics. https://www.therapyroute.com/article/loneliness-and-social-isolation-statistics-by-therapyroute. Last updated 27 October 2026.

References

1. [1] Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death. World Health Organization, 2025-06-30 who.int.
2. [2] Community Life Survey 2024/25: Loneliness and support networks. Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2025-12-10 gov.uk.
3. [3] The prevalence of loneliness across 113 countries: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ (Surkalim DL, Luo M, Eres R, et al.), 2022-02-09 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
4. [4] A systematic review and meta-analysis of 90 cohort studies of social isolation, loneliness and mortality. Nature Human Behaviour (Wang F, Gao Y, Han Z, et al.), 2023-06-19 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
5. [5] Loneliness, Lack of Social and Emotional Support, and Mental Health Issues — United States, 2022. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MMWR (Bruss KV, Seth P, Zhao G), 2024-06-20 cdc.gov.
6. [6] Quality of life indicators - social interactions. Eurostat, 2024-07 ec.europa.eu.
7. [7] Loneliness and its association with sociodemographic and health indicators in Brazilian adults and older adults: ELSI-Brazil. Cadernos de Saúde Pública (Sandy Júnior et al.), 2023 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
8. [8] Loneliness and associated factors among middle-aged and older adults: cross-sectional and longitudinal survey results from the HAALSI cohort in South Africa. Aging & Mental Health (Pengpid S, Peltzer K), 2024 tandfonline.com.
9. [9] Associations of loneliness with poor physical health, poor mental health and health risk behaviours among a nationally representative community-dwelling sample of middle-aged and older adults in India. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (Pengpid S, Peltzer K), 2021 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
10. [10] Social isolation and loneliness. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2026-05-12 aihw.gov.au.