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.
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.
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.
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%
Which generations are making money-related resolutions for 2024?
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.
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.
Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact –
Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications T: +44 20 8191 8806
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. See full bio
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Matthew has written 244 Finder guides across topics including:
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