New Year's resolution statistics for 2024

Our recent survey has found that in 2024, a whopping 35 million people in the UK will be making New Year’s resolutions – 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.

New Year’s resolution statistics: Highlights

Two-thirds of Brits (66%) will be setting themselves New Year’s resolutions for 2024, which is around 35 million British adults.
3 in 10 Brits (29%) will make a money resolution for 2024.
97% of generation Z will be making resolutions for 2024, while just 14% of the silent generation will be doing so.
Almost half of generation Z (46%) will make a money-related resolution for 2024.
8 in 10 Londoners (79%) will be making New Year’s resolutions for 2024.
Health-based resolutions are most common across all regions of the UK for 2024.

How many people make New Year’s resolutions in the UK?

According to our survey, an estimated 2 in 3 Brits (66%) will be setting themselves New Year’s resolutions in 2024. That’s 35 million people taking deliberate steps to better themselves as the year kicks off. There are 8% more people making resolutions this year than last year, when 58% of the UK population set goals for 2023.

Graph
Table

Year	Number of people making New Year's resolutions
2022	28 million
2023	30 million
2024	35 million

What are the most common New Year’s resolutions in the UK?

The most common New Year’s resolution in the UK for 2024 is centered around health, with over a third of people (35%) keen to improve their physical and mental well-being. Money is the second most popular category for New Year’s resolutions, with 29% of people setting goals in this area, closely followed by family with 26%.

Compared to last year, self-improvement has jumped by 4 percentage points, with a quarter of Brits (25%) setting their sights on personal development. Travel has also jumped significantly, rising from 15% last year to 20% this year.

Graph
Table

Resolution	Percentage
Health	35%
Money	29%
Family	26%
Self-improvement	25%
Travel	20%
Love	17%
Career	14%
Other	1%

The number of New Year’s resolutions by generation

Our data shows that the older respondents get, the less likely they are to make a New Year’s resolution. While a whopping 97% of generation Z will be making resolutions in 2023, this drops to 86% for millennials, 67% for generation X, 46% for baby boomers and 23% for the silent generation.

Graph
Table

Generation	Percentage making New Year's resolutions
Gen Z	97%
Millenials	86%
Gen X	67%
Baby Boomers	46%
Silent Generation	23%

The most common New Year’s resolutions by generation

Generation Z is most focused on self-improvement, with nearly half (48%) of the cohort’s New Year’s resolutions including personal growth. Health is the main category for all other generations, with 42% of millennials, 38% of generation X, 30% of baby boomers and 14% of the silent generation setting New Year’s resolutions related to their health.

Resolution	Gen Z	Millennials	Gen X	Baby Boomers	Silent Generation
Health	37%	42%	38%	30%	14%
Money	46%	41%	30%	16%	8%
Family	30%	37%	25%	18%	10%
Self-improvement	48%	35%	26%	12%	6%
Travel	23%	26%	22%	15%	6%
Love	30%	25%	16%	8%	5%
Career	26%	26%	12%	2%	1%
Other	1%	1%	1%	1%	0%

Generation Z is the generation most focused on money, with almost half (46%) of respondents having New Year’s resolutions related to their finances. The issue of money becomes less important by generation. Millennials closely trail generation Z, with 2 in 5 (41%) focusing on money in their New Year’s resolutions for 2024.

This number dwindles significantly for subsequent generations, with 30% of generation X, 16% of baby boomers and 8% of the silent generation listing money as a category for New Year’s resolutions.

Graph
Table

East Midlands	66%
West Midlands	62%
North East	50%
North West	66%
Northern Ireland	80%
Scotland	65%

The number of New Year’s resolutions by region

4 in 5 people (80%) from Northern Ireland plan on making New Year’s resolutions for 2024, making them the region with the most adherers to the yearly tradition. Greater London comes in a close second place, with 79% of people planning on making New Year’s resolutions. The East Midlands, the South East and the South West are all tied for 3rd place, with two-thirds of people (66%) planning New Year’s resolutions.

The region with the fewest people making New Year’s resolutions is the North East, where only half (50%) of people are setting goals for 2024.

Region	Percentage making New Year's resolutions
East of England	65%
Greater London	79%
East Midlands	66%
West Midlands	62%
North East	50%
North West	66%
Northern Ireland	80%
Scotland	65%
South East	66%
South West	64%
Wales	59%
Yorkshire and the Humber	59%

The most common New Year’s resolutions by region

Health was the number one category for New Year’s resolutions across the country. Money also featured heavily, appearing in the top 3 for all regions except the North East and Wales, where travel and family came after health.

Career-based resolutions were the least prevalent, coming last place in 11 out of 12 regions. Love is another unpopular category for New Year’s resolutions, with 3 regions having it jointly tied with career for the least popular. Scottish resolutions are least likely to centre around love, with only 11% of people choosing this as a focus area.

Methodology

Finder commissioned Censuswide to carry out a nationally representative survey of adults aged 18+. A total of 2,000 people were questioned throughout Great Britain between 27 and 29 November 2023, with representative quotas for gender, age and region.

Quick overview
- 58% of the UK population will make a New Year’s resolution in 2023. This equates to 30 million British adults.
- A quarter of the UK (27%) will make a money resolution for 2023.
- 62% of women and 53% of men plan to make a New Year’s resolution for 2023.
- 86% of generation Z will be making resolutions for 2023, while just 21% of the silent generation will be doing so.
- 74% of Londoners will be making New Year’s resolutions for 2023.
How many people in the UK will make a New Year’s resolution for 2023?
According to our survey, an estimated 58% of the UK population will be setting themselves New Year’s resolutions in 2023. That’s 30 million people taking deliberate steps to better themselves as the year kicks off. Compared to 2022, there are 4% more people making resolutions this year, when 54% of the UK population set goals for the year.
The most common New Year’s resolution in the UK
42% of the UK may not be planning to make a New Year’s resolution in 2022, but the remaining 58% will set goals across a wide range of areas. Surprisingly, career progression will receive the least attention in 2022, with just 12% 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 28% of respondents having this as their goal for 2022. The new year could see Brits purchasing those gym memberships, home workout equipment or eating healthier foods.
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 86% of generation Z will be making resolutions in 2022, this drops to 78% for millennials, 55% for generation X, 37% for baby boomers and 21% for the silent generation.
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 generation Z have money on their collective minds. A whopping 47% of generation Z will be making New Year’s resolutions about money. This ranges 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 Year’s resolutions by gender
62% of women and 53% of men plan to make a New Year’s resolution in 2023, according to our survey research. 7% more women (55%) are setting resolutions in 2023 compared to 2022. Only 1% more men (52%) will be making resolutions.
The most common New Year’s resolution by gender
Of those who will be making resolutions for the new year, 34% of females will be focusing on health – 11% higher than the number of men (23%) who will be doing the same.
In fact, more females will be focusing on all categories, including money, family, self-improvement, love, travelling and career, more than men throughout the new year. The most popular New Year’s resolution for men is money (23%), with career and love (12%) being the least common goals for men in 2023.
New Year’s resolutions by region
74% of Londoners will be making New Year’s resolutions in 2022. This is closely followed by Northern Ireland (71%), North East (63%), Wales and West Midlands (60%), Yorkshire and the Humber (59%), Scotland and North West (57%).
Less than half of the East Midlands (46%) and the East of England (47%) will be making resolutions for 2023, the only regions where more people will not be setting goals for the upcoming year.
The most common New Year’s resolution by region
Apart from the North East, a majority of those making resolutions across all regions will be directing their efforts towards health and money. With the 2022 cost of living crisis affecting disposable income levels, a third of those in London (34%), Yorkshire and the Humber (32%) and Wales (31%) put money as an important goal for the upcoming year.
A third of the North East (32%) plan to focus on their family in 2023. As for the South West, family and health (23%) are tied for the most common 2023 New Year’s resolution for the region.
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 2022.
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.
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 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 gym memberships, shovelling down the vitamins and most likely masking up to avoid all variants of COVID-19.
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 drops to 78% for millennials, 51% for generation X, 29% for baby boomers and 17% for the silent generation.
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 generation Z has money on their collective minds. A whopping 43% of generation Z will be making New Year’s resolutions about money. This ranges 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 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.
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% higher than the number of men (22%) 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 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%) and then East England (50%). 49% of those in the South East and South West will be making resolutions, while Yorkshire and The Humber come in last in our list, with just 47% of this region choosing to set some goals for 2022.
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% 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.
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

Thank you for your feedback!

Matthew Boyle

Matthew Boyle is a banking and mortgages publisher at Finder. He has a 7-year history of publishing helpful guides to assist consumers in making better decisions. In his spare time, you will find him walking in the Norfolk countryside admiring the local wildlife.

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