New Year’s resolutions
We've gathered the statistics on how many people have a New Year's resolution for 2022.
Our recent survey has found that in 2022, a whopping 28 million people in the UK will be making their New Year’s resolution in good faith that next year will be better than the last. Whether that’s a promise to save more or get healthy. Read on to discover the most common goals Brits will set in the new year.
Key statistics
- 54% of the UK population will set a New Year’s resolution in 2022.
- A quarter of the UK will make a health-focused resolution for 2022.
- 55% of women and 52% of men plan to make a New Year’s resolution in 2022.
- 87% of generation Z will be making resolutions in 2022, while just 17% of the silent generation will be doing so.
- 73% of Londoners will be making New Year’s resolutions in 2022.
How many people in the UK will make a New Year’s resolution?
According to our survey, an estimated 54% of the UK population will be setting themselves a New Year’s resolution in 2022. That’s 28 million people taking deliberate steps to better themselves as the year kicks off.
| All | # of people | |
|---|---|---|
| % of Brits that will make resolutions | 53.80% | 28,192,999 |
| % of Brits that have no resolutions | 46.20% | 24,210,345 |
The most common New Year’s resolution in the UK
46% of the UK may not be planning to make a New Year’s resolution in 2022, but the remaining 54% will set goals across a wide range of areas. Surprisingly, career progression will receive the least amount of attention in 2022, with just 9% claiming their resolution will focus on this.
On the other end of the spectrum, health has proven to be the most popular among Brits, with a quarter of respondents toting this as their goal for 2022. This means that the new year could see Brits purchasing those gym memberships, shovelling down the vitamins and most likely masking up to avoid all variants of COVID-19.
| New years resolution | Percentage of respondents |
|---|---|
| No resolutions | 46.20% |
| Health | 25.35% |
| Money | 21.30% |
| Family | 19.40% |
| Self-improvement | 16.55% |
| Love | 13.85% |
| Travel | 10.70% |
| Career | 9.25% |
New Year’s resolutions by generation
Interestingly, our data shows that the older respondents get, the less likely they are to make a New Year’s resolution. While a whopping 87% of generation Z will be making resolutions in 2022, this reduces to 78% for millennials, 51% for generation X, 29% for baby boomers and finally down to 17% for the silent generation.
| % that will make resolutions | % that have no resolutions | |
|---|---|---|
| Generation Z | 87.29% | 12.71% |
| Millennials | 77.97% | 22.03% |
| Generation X | 51.41% | 48.59% |
| Baby Boomers | 29.01% | 70.99% |
| Silent Generation | 17.46% | 82.54% |
The most common New Year’s resolution by generation
As for what each generation is aiming to accomplish in the new year, it seems that gen Z have got money on their collective minds. A whopping 43% of gen Z will be making New Year’s resolutions about money. This varies from increasing their savings to investing, or even picking up a side hustle to make some extra cash. Across all other generations, the majority will focus on improving their health in 2022.
| New years resolution | Generation Z | Millennials | Generation X | Baby Boomers | Silent Gen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No resolutions | 12.71% | 22.03% | 48.59% | 70.99% | 82.54% |
| Health | 30.94% | 32.36% | 25.71% | 18.93% | 13.49% |
| Money | 42.54% | 32.20% | 17.74% | 10.53% | 1.59% |
| Family | 25.97% | 29.58% | 20.05% | 10.08% | 3.97% |
| Self-improvement | 28.18% | 22.34% | 16.45% | 9.77% | 5.56% |
| Love | 28.18% | 24.81% | 11.05% | 3.21% | 0.79% |
| Travel | 18.23% | 15.87% | 8.48% | 6.56% | 1.59% |
| Career | 19.34% | 16.95% | 7.46% | 1.68% | 0.00% |
New Year’s resolutions by gender
55% of women and 52% of men plan to make a New Year’s resolution in 2022, according to our survey research.
| Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
| % of Brits that will make resolutions | 52.11% | 55.40% |
| % of Brits that have no resolutions | 47.89% | 44.60% |
The most common New Year’s resolution by gender
Of those who will be making resolutions for the new year, 28% of females will be focusing on health – 6 percentage points higher than the 22% of men who will be doing the same. In fact, more females will be focusing on money, family and self-improvement than men throughout the new year. Meanwhile, more men will have resolutions that focus on finding love, travelling abroad and career progression.
| New years resolution | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|
| No resolutions | 47.89% | 44.60% |
| Health | 22.20% | 28.33% |
| Money | 21.27% | 21.32% |
| Family | 19.01% | 19.77% |
| Self-improvement | 15.21% | 17.82% |
| Love | 16.24% | 11.59% |
| Travel | 12.74% | 8.76% |
| Career | 10.28% | 8.28% |
New Year’s resolutions by region
73% of Londoners will be making New Year’s resolutions in 2022. This is closely followed by Wales (59%), West Midlands and North East (57%), Northern Ireland (56%), Northwest and East Midlands (53%), then East England (50%). 49% of those in the South East and South West will be making resolutions, while Yorkshire and The Humber comes in last in our list, with just 47% of this region choosing to set some goals for 2022.
| % that will make resolutions | % that have no resolutions | |
|---|---|---|
| East of England | 50.00% | 50.00% |
| Greater London | 73.38% | 26.62% |
| East Midlands | 53.15% | 46.85% |
| West Midlands | 57.06% | 42.94% |
| North East | 56.79% | 43.21% |
| North West | 53.42% | 46.58% |
| Northern Ireland | 56.00% | 44.00% |
| Scotland | 39.29% | 60.71% |
| South East | 49.10% | 50.90% |
| South West | 49.12% | 50.88% |
| Wales | 59.38% | 40.63% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 46.71% | 53.29% |
The most common New Year’s resolution by region
Apart from Wales and East of England, a majority of those making resolutions across all regions will be directing their efforts towards health. On a more wholesome note, 28% of those in Wales plan to focus on their family (just 2 percentage points more than those who plan to take care of their health). As for the East of England, 23% will make a New Year’s resolution to do with money.
| New years resolution | East of England | Greater London | East Midlands | West Midlands | North East | North West | Northern Ireland | Scotland | South East | South West | Wales | Yorkshire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No resolutions | 50.00% | 26.62% | 46.85% | 42.94% | 43.21% | 46.58% | 44.00% | 60.71% | 50.90% | 50.88% | 40.63% | 53.29% |
| Health | 20.74% | 30.42% | 22.38% | 20.90% | 25.93% | 29.68% | 20.00% | 21.43% | 27.08% | 28.65% | 26.04% | 22.75% |
| Money | 22.87% | 26.24% | 18.88% | 19.77% | 19.75% | 24.66% | 16.00% | 15.48% | 22.02% | 19.88% | 22.92% | 18.56% |
| Family | 20.21% | 26.24% | 18.18% | 19.77% | 16.05% | 23.29% | 14.00% | 11.90% | 15.88% | 16.96% | 28.13% | 17.37% |
| Self-improvement | 15.43% | 22.43% | 12.59% | 14.12% | 18.52% | 20.09% | 14.00% | 14.88% | 17.69% | 12.28% | 16.67% | 13.77% |
| Love | 14.36% | 27.76% | 13.99% | 9.60% | 18.52% | 14.61% | 6.00% | 6.55% | 10.11% | 11.11% | 19.79% | 7.78% |
| Travel | 10.64% | 19.77% | 7.69% | 6.21% | 7.41% | 9.13% | 16.00% | 10.12% | 7.94% | 9.36% | 16.67% | 8.98% |
| Career | 9.04% | 14.45% | 4.90% | 6.21% | 11.11% | 13.70% | 10.00% | 7.14% | 9.75% | 7.02% | 7.29% | 5.99% |
Methodology
- A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.
- The research was conducted in December 2021.
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact
Matt Mckenna
Head of UK communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
Head of UK communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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