How many vegetarians and vegans are in the UK?

How many Brits will give up meat in 2022?

Updated Jan 5, 2022. What changed?

Fact checked

In 2023, more and more Brits are following a meat-free diet, which means they’ve chosen to become vegetarian, pescatarian or vegan.

With various food subscription services and brands now catering to plant-based lifestyles, adopting a meat-free diet has now become much easier and accessible for Brits. We carried out our annual survey of 2,000 adults to investigate the diet habits and intentions of UK residents this year.

Quick overview

Currently, 14% of adults in the UK (7.2 million) are following a meat-free diet.
A further 8.6 million Brits plan to go meat-free in 2023, which means that the UK could have a total of 15.8 million meat-free citizens at the beginning of 2023 (30% of the adult population).
The most popular meat-free diet is vegetarianism with 3.4 million already following in 2023.
Younger generations are significantly more likely to follow a meat-free diet, with 43% of gen Z planning to cut meat from their diet in 2023.

How many people in the UK are vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian in 2023?

According to our survey, 86% of the population currently eat meat in their diets. This means that around 7.2 million British adults (14%) currently follow a meat-free diet.

How many vegetarians are there in the UK?
With around 3.4 million people in the UK (6.5%), the vegetarian diet remains the most common of the non-meat diets.

How many pescatarians are there in the UK?
The next most popular meat-free diet at the moment is the pescatarian diet, with around 2.4 million Brits (4.5%) opting for this diet.

How many vegans are there in the UK?
Lastly, there are around 1.4 million people in the UK who are currently vegan (2.5%), a number which is growing rapidly.

Current diet
Table

Kind of diet	Percentage of UK following
Vegetarian	6.45%
Pescatarian	4.50%
Vegan	2.55%

How many people gave up meat in 2022?

There was a net loss of 103,000 people who gave up on their meat-free diets in the UK throughout 2022, according to our research.

The diet that gained the most recruits in 2022 was vegetarianism, with 155,000 people joining the cause, while 9,117 people took up pescetarianism. However, these gains were offset by a decrease of over 268,000 vegans.

Diet trends in 2022
Table

Kind of diet	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Vegetarian	6.90%	6.55%	6.00%	6.25%	6.45%
Pescatarian	4.10%	4.10%	4.70%	4.55%	4.50%
Vegan	1.30%	2.10%	3.00%	3.10%	2.55%

How many people plan to give up meat in 2023?

Brits are once again optimistic about cutting meat out of their diets in 2023. 8.6 million of us plan to become vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian over the next 12 months. While our previous research suggests it is very unlikely that everyone will stick to these intentions, if they did, the UK would have a total of 15.8 million meat-free citizens at the beginning of 2024.

How many Brits will be meat-free by 2024?
Table

	Meat-free by end of 2022	Intending to go meat-free in 2023	Total meat-free by 2024
Vegetarian	6.45%	6.50%	12.95%
Pescatarian	4.50%	5.65%	10.15%
Vegan	2.55%	4.00%	6.55%

Which generation eats the least meat?

There is a clear age divide when it comes to views on eating meat. Our studies show that millennials are currently the most meat-free generation. Almost 1 in 4 (18%) of millennials currently go without meat by following a pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan diet, and a further 26% intend to stop eating meat in 2023.

Gen Z are not far behind, with 16% of this generation currently following a meat-free diet. However those in this age group are the most optimistic when it comes to cutting meat out of their diet in 2023, with 43% of gen Z’s intending to do so. If all of these individuals were to stick to their intentions, 59% of gen Z would be meat-free by 2024.

The silent generation (aged 74+) were the least likely to avoid meat, with only 5% currently doing so, and a meager 1% intending to cut meat from their diet in 2023.

Generations ditching meat in 2023
Table

	Planned to ditch meat in 2021	Planned to ditch meat in 2022	Plan to ditch meat in 2023
Generation Z	25.90%	29.73%	43.00%
Millennials	15.50%	26.76%	26.00%
Generation X	14.80%	15.97%	12.00%
Baby Boomers	5.20%	5.30%	5.00%
Silent Gen	4.20%	4.71%	1.00%

Are there gender differences when it comes to diet?

The survey found that there are currently 16% less men than women who don’t consume meat. While this may be a slight difference, the same can’t be said for intentions to change diet. In 2023, a whopping 319% more men than women are planning to go vegan (7% versus 2%), 177% more men than women intend to go pescatarian (8% versus 3%) and 98% more men than women plan to go vegetarian (9% versus 4%).

	Men	Women
Plan to be Vegetarian	8.70%	4.40%
Plan to be Pescatarian	8.39%	3.03%
Plan to be Vegan	6.55%	1.56%

	Men	Women	% difference
Currently meat-free	7.16%	8.50%	16%
Plan to ditch meat in 2022	6.55%	6.35%	-3%
Total meat-free by 2023	13.72%	14.86%	8%

Which region has the most vegetarians?

By the end of 2023, almost half of Greater London (46%) could be following a meat-free diet. This is if the 25% of Londoners who intend to ditch meat in 2023 actually follow through. With one in four Londoners currently following either a vegetarian, pescatarian or vegan diet, London is already the most meat-free region in the UK.

Following London is the West Midlands and Northern Ireland with 20% intending to ditch meat in 2022. Then East Midlands (18%), Yorkshire and the Humber (17%), East of England (16%), North West and Wales (14%).

On the other end of the intention spectrum is the North East, where just 9% of the population plan to adopt a meat-free lifestyle in 2023. This means that by 2024, just 18% of the North East will be meat-free, making them the least meat-free nation in the UK.

Hover over the map below for a closer look at which regions plan to ditch the meat in 2023.

Map
Table

	Currently meat-free	Ditching meat in 2023	Total meat-free by 2024
East of England	10.22%	16.13%	26.34%
Greater London	20.38%	25.28%	45.66%
East Midlands	13.61%	17.69%	31.29%
West Midlands	17.05%	20.45%	37.50%
North East	9.76%	8.54%	18.29%
North West	14.09%	14.09%	28.18%
Northern Ireland	7.27%	20.00%	27.27%
Scotland	10.32%	11.61%	21.94%
South East	14.64%	12.14%	26.79%
South West	12.21%	12.79%	25.00%
Wales	7.29%	13.54%	20.83%
Yorkshire and the Humber	11.45%	16.87%	28.31%

In 2022, more and more Brits are following a meat-free diet, which means they’ve chosen to become vegetarian, pescatarian or vegan.

With various food subscription services and brands now catering to plant-based lifestyles, adopting a meat-free diet has now become much easier and accessible for Brits too. We carried out our annual survey of 2,000 adults to investigate the diet habits and intentions of UK residents this year, and have analysed the cost of each option as well.

Quick overview

Currently, 14% of adults in the UK (7.2 million) are following a meat-free diet.
A further 8.8 million Brits plan to go meat-free in 2022 (the highest figure in 4 years).
This means that the UK could have a total of 16 million meat-free citizens at the beginning of 2023.
Just 2% of those who said they would give up meat in 2021 actually did so.
The most popular meat-free diet is vegetarianism with 3.3 million followers.
Younger generations are significantly more likely to follow a meat-free diet, with gen Z (aged 18 to 23) being the most likely to avoid meat already (25%) and plan on giving it up (30%) in 2022.

How many people in the UK are vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian in 2022?

According to our survey, 86% of the population currently eat meat in their diets. This means that around 7.2 million British adults (14%) currently follow a meat-free diet.

How many vegetarians are there in the UK?
With around 3.3 million people in the UK (6%), the vegetarian diet remains the most common of the non-meat diets.

How many pescatarians are there in the UK?
The next most popular meat-free diet at the moment is the pescatarian diet, with around 2.4 million Brits (5%) opting for this diet.

How many vegans are there in the UK?
Lastly, there are around 1.6 million people in the UK who are currently vegan (3%), a number which is growing rapidly.

Current diet
Table

Kind of diet	Percentage of UK following
Vegetarian	6.25%
Pescatarian	4.55%
Vegan	3.10%

How many people gave up meat in 2021?

There was a net gain of 105,000 people who started to follow meat-free diets in the UK throughout 2021, according to our research. However, this figure is under 2% of the 6.5 million people who intended to do so, which means the number of people who gave up meat in 2021 fell by 78% compared to 2020. That year, 470,000 managed to follow through with their plans – around 9% of the 5.3 million who intended to do so.

The diet that gained the most recruits in 2021 was vegetarianism, with 130,000 people joining the cause, while 52,000 people took up veganism. However, these gains were offset by a decrease of almost 79,000 pescatarians. It’s worth noting that some of these people may have been pescatarians who also gave up meat in 2021.

Diet trends in 2021
Table

Kind of diet	2019	2020	2021	2022
Vegetarian	6.90%	6.55%	6.00%	6.25%
Pescatarian	4.10%	4.10%	4.70%	4.55%
Vegan	1.30%	2.10%	3.00%	3.10%

How many people plan to give up meat in 2022?

Brits are once again optimistic about cutting meat out of their diets in 2022. 8.8 million of us plan to become vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian over the next 12 months – the highest figure recorded in the 4 years that we’ve been running this research. While our previous research suggests it is very unlikely that everyone will stick to these intentions, if they did, the UK would have a total of 16 million meat-free citizens at the beginning of 2023.

How many Brits will be meat-free by 2023?
Table

	Meat-free by end of 2021	Intending to go meat-free in 2022	Total meat-free by 2023
Vegetarian	6.25%	7.50%	13.75%
Pescatarian	4.55%	4.60%	9.15%
Vegan	3.10%	4.65%	7.75%

Which generation eats the least meat?

There is a clear age divide when it comes to views on eating meat. Our studies show that those aged 18 to 23 (generation Z) are currently the most meat-free generation. A quarter (25%) of generation Z said that they currently go without meat by following a pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan diet. This is a slight increase from last year’s most meat-free generation, millennials (24-42), of which 20% had adopted either a pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan diet.

Millennials are not far behind this survey – currently 18% follow a meat-free diet and they could be joined by an additional 27% throughout 2022. 9.6% are already following a different type of diet outside the main 3 meat-free diets.

Just 1 in 10 (11%) of the silent generation (aged 74+) avoid meat and only 5% plan to do so in 2022.

Generations ditching meat in 2022
Table

	planned to ditch meat in 2021	plan to ditch meat in 2022
Generation Z	25.90%	29.73%
Millennials	15.50%	26.76%
Generation X	14.80%	15.97%
Baby Boomers	5.20%	5.30%
Silent Gen	4.20%	4.71%

Are there gender differences when it comes to diet?

The survey found that there are currently 5% more men than women who don’t consume meat. While this may be a slight difference, the same can’t be said for intentions to change diet. In 2022, a whopping 56% more men than women are planning to go meat-free this year (21% versus 13%). If those who intend to go meat-free stick to their plans in 2021, there will be 30% more men than women adopting a meat-free lifestyle this year (35% versus 27%).

9% of men will be going vegetarian in 2022, while just 6% of women will be doing so. Veganism is the second most popular choice for men, as 6% will be adopting this lifestyle throughout 2022 too (just 2.95% of women will be going vegan in 2022). Finally, 4% of women will be going pescatarian in 2022, just slightly lower than the 5% of men who will be doing the same.

	Men	Women
Plan to be Vegetarian	8.94%	6.10%
Plan to be Pescatarian	5.18%	4.04%
Plan to be Vegan	6.40%	2.95%

	Men	Women	% difference
Currently meat-free	14.23%	13.58%	5%
Plan to ditch meat in 2022	20.53%	13.09%	57%
Total meat-free by 2023	34.76%	26.67%	30%

Which region has the most vegetarians?

By the end of 2022, more than half of Greater London could be following a meat-free diet. This is if the 27% of Londoners who intend to ditch meat in 2022 actually follow through. With almost a quarter of Londoners currently following either a vegetarian, pescatarian or vegan diet, London is already the most meat-free region in the UK.

Following London is the West Midlands, with 24% intending to ditch meat in 2022. Then East of England (19%), Yorkshire and The Humber (18%), Wales, the North West and East Midlands (16%), South West and Northern Ireland (13%), and the South East, where just 12% plan to give up meat.

On the other end of the intention spectrum is Scotland, where just 6% of the population plan to adopt a meat-free lifestyle in 2022. This means that by 2023, just 23% of Scotland will be meat-free. However, this won’t make them the least meat-free nation in the UK. That title goes to the South East, which could see just 21% following either a vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian diet by 2023.

Hover over the map below for a closer look at which regions plan to ditch the meat in 2022.

In 2021, more and more Brits are following a meat-free diet, which means they’ve chosen to become vegetarian, pescatarian or vegan.

Quick overview

Currently, around 14% of adults (7.2 million) in the UK are following a meat-free diet.
A further 12% (6.5 million) of the population intend to become vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian in 2021.
Almost 500,000 Brits gave up meat in 2020.
The number of those who gave up meat in 2020 was double that of 2019’s figures.
People following veganism increased by 40% in 2020.
Younger generations are significantly more likely to follow a meat-free diet, with a fifth of Gen Z already doing so (20%) and a further 26% planning to adopt one in 2021.

The UK’s current diet

According to our survey, 86% of the population currently eat meat in their diets. This means that around 7.2 million British adults (14%) currently follow a meat-free diet.

How many vegetarians are there in the UK?
With around 3.1 million people in the UK (6%), the vegetarian diet is currently the most common of the non-meat diets.

How many pescatarians are there in the UK?
The next most popular meat-free diet at this moment in time is the pescatarian diet, with around 2.5 million Brits (5%) opting for this diet.

How many vegans are there in the UK?
Lastly, there are around 1.5 million people in the UK who are currently vegan. A number which is growing rapidly.

Current diet
Table

Current diet	% of population
Meat	86.4%
Vegetarian	6.0%
Pescatarian	4.7%
Vegan	3.0%

How the UK’s diet has changed over the last 12 months

While the number of vegetarians and pescatarians has remained very similar to last year, Finder’s research estimates that the number of vegans in the UK has increased by 445,428 people (40%) over the past 12 months.

However, overall it seems that not many were able to stick to their diet over the past year. Of those who said they would cut out meat by the end of 2020, only 9% (500,000) managed to stick to their new diet.

The UK’s dietary intentions by the end of 2021

Numbers are certainly rising for those adopting a meat-free lifestyle. Combined with those who already follow a meat-free diet, there could be 13 million Brits (26%) who are vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian by the end of this year. If those who plan to ditch the meat actually follow through with their plans, around 1 in 10 people in the UK (11%) will be following a vegetarian diet, 8% will follow a pescatarian diet and 7% will be following a vegan diet.

Intentions by the end of 2021
Table

Intentions by the end of 2021	% of population
Meat	74.10%
Vegetarian	11.30%
Pescatarian	7.90%
Vegan	6.90%

Diet changes over 2021

The diet that will have the most new recruits in 2021 looks to be vegetarianism, as 2.8 million intend to take up this lifestyle.

The biggest change statistically though will be veganism. If the 2 million people who intend to become vegan this year actually do so, the number of vegans will increase by 132%.

The amount of people intending to adopt a pescatarian diet is set to increase the least, both number and percentage-wise, with 1.7 million Brits wanting to change to this particular diet.

Diet	Number of people who follow this diet	Number of peolpe who intend to follow this diet in 2021	Number by the end of 2021	% change
Vegetarian	3,144,201	2,777,377	5,921,578	88%
Pescatarian	2,462,957	1,676,907	4,139,864	68%
Vegan	1,545,899	2,043,730	3,589,629	132%
Meat	45,250,287	-6,498,014	38,752,273	-14%

Which generations are ditching the meat?

Our studies show that those aged 18 to 23 (generation Z) are currently the most meat-free generation. 20% of generation Z said that they currently go without meat by following a pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan diet. This is a slight increase from last year’s most meat-free generation, millennials (24-42), of which 19% had adopted either a pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan diet.

Generation Z is also leading the way for those intending to adopt a meat-free lifestyle in 2021, with over 25% planning to ditch the meat in this new year.

Only 8% of the silent generation are currently meat-free and only a further 4% plan to go meat-free in 2021, making them the least veggie generation.

Generations ditching meat in 2021
Table

Generation	% ditching meat in 2021
Generation Z (18-23)	25.9%
Millennials (24-42)	15.5%
Generation X (43-54)	14.8%
Baby boomers (55-73)	5.2%
Silent generation (74+)	4.2%

Are there gender differences when it comes to diet?

The survey found that there are currently 262,000 more men than women who don’t consume meat (7.2 million vs 7 million). Similarly, more men than women are planning to go meat-free this year (13% vs 11%). If those who intend to go meat-free stick to their plans in 2021, there will be almost 1.2 million more men than women adopting a meat-free lifestyle this year.

Genders going meat-free
Table

Gender	Already meat-free	Planning to go meat-free
Men	13.90%	13.20%
Women	13.40%	11.40%

The cost of each diet

Many people embark on a new diet for health and lifestyle reasons but often forget to think through the financial implications of the change. The reality is that what you eat can have a direct impact on your wallet.

It’s good news for vegetarians, who have a diet that’s 26% cheaper than a meat-inclusive one. This means they can save an extra £457 every year. It’s not so great for vegans, who have the most expensive diet overall, coming in at £2,073 annually. Interestingly, a pescatarian diet is only £29 cheaper per year than a diet that also includes meat.

Cost of each diet per person per year
Table

Diet	Cost per year
Vegan diet	£2,073
Diet that includes meat	£2,002
Pescatarian diet	£1,973
Vegetarian diet	£1,545

When you look at the costs on a national scale, you can see the huge financial impact of changing consumer trends. If everyone followed through with their dietary plans in 2021, Brits would spend a total of £7.4 billion on vegan diets, £8.1 billion on pescatarian diets and £9.2 billion on vegetarian diets over a year.

The UK’s current diet and how it has changed over the past 12 months

According to the survey, 87% of the population currently eat meat in their diets. Of the non-meat diets, the vegetarian diet is the most common (7%), followed by the pescatarian diet (4%) and then the vegan diet (2%). This means around 6.7 million British adults currently follow a meat-free diet.

While the number of vegetarians and pescatarians has remained very similar to last year, Finder’s research estimates that the number of vegans in the UK increased by 419,000 (62%) over the past 12 months.

However, overall it seems not many were able to stick to their diet over the past year. Of those who said they would cut out meat by the end of 2019, only 5% (236,000) have managed to stick to their new diet.

Diet	Percent
Total vegetarian	6.55%
Total pescatarian	4.10%
Total vegan	2.10%
Total meat free	12.75%
Not following any diet	87.25%

The UK’s diet intentions by the end of 2020

Despite the relatively low numbers of non-meat eaters in the population remaining the same, many others intend to change their diets over 2020. 12 million Brits (23%) say they will follow a vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian diet by the end of this year. If these people follow through with their plans, around 1 in 10 (11%) will be following a vegetarian diet, 7% will follow a pescatarian diet and 4% will be following a vegan diet.

Intentions
Table

Diet in 2020	Percent
Total vegetarian	11.35%
Total pescatarian	7.35%
Total vegan	4.15%
Total meat free	22.85%
No diet intentions	77.15%

Specific diet changes over 2020

The diet that will have the most new recruits in 2020 looks set to be vegetarianism, as 2.5 million intend to take up this lifestyle.

The biggest change statistically though is veganism. If the 1 million people who intend to become vegan this year actually do so, this would be an increase of 98% compared to last year.

Pescatarianism is set to grow by 80%, while there will be a significant decrease in the number of meat eaters, with 5.2 million giving it up this year, which is an 11% reduction.

Type of diet	Current population	People who intend to follow this diet	Population by end of 2020	% change
No-specific diet	45,721,918	-5,292,738	40,429,180	-11.60%
Vegan	1,100,470	1,074,269	2,174,739	97.60%
Vegetarian	3,432,419	2,515,361	5,947,780	73.30%
Pescatarian	2,148,537	1,703,109	3,851,646	79.30%

Which generations are ditching the meat?

Millennials are the most meat-free generation at the moment – 15% of this generation said that they currently go without meat by following a pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan diet. However, by 2021, gen Z will have overtaken millennials, with 35% of gen Z being meat-free compared to 32% of millennials.

Only 9% of the silent generation are currently meat-free and a further 3% plan to go meat-free by 2021, making them the least veggie generation.

Generations ditching meat
Table

Generation	Percent ditching meat
Postmillennial	13.89%
Millennials	14.74%
Generation X	13.79%
Boomers	10.57%
Silent generation	8.86%

Are there gender differences when it comes to diets?

The survey found there are currently 230,000 more females than males who don’t consume meat (3.9 million vs 3.7 million). However, more men than women are planning to go meat-free this year (11% vs 9%).

Women and men
Table

Intention	Female	Male
Planning to go meat free	8.84%	11.44%
Already meat free	14.57%	10.82%

Cost of each diet

Many people embark on a new diet for health and lifestyle reasons and often forget to think through the financial implications of the change. The reality is that what you eat can have a direct impact on your wallet.

It’s good news for vegetarians, who have a diet that’s 26% cheaper than a meat-inclusive one, meaning they can pocket an extra £457 every year. It’s not so great for vegans, who have the most expensive diet overall, coming in at £2,073 annually. Interestingly, a pescatarian diet is £29 cheaper than a diet that also includes meat.

Yearly cost of each diet per person

Diet costs
Table

Diet	Cost per year
Vegan diet	£2,073
Diet that includes meat	£2,002
Pescatarian diet	£1,973
Vegetarian diet	£1,545

When you look at the costs on a national scale you can see the huge financial impact of changing consumer trends. If everyone followed through with their dietary plans in 2019, Brits would spend a total of £4.5 billion on vegan diets, £7.6 billion on pescatarian diets and £9.2 billion on vegetarian diets over a year.

UK’s diet trends 2019

The UK’s current diet vs UK diet intentions by the end of 2019

According to the survey, 88% of the population currently eat meat in their diets. Of the non-meat diets, the vegetarian diet is the most common (7%), followed by the pescatarian diet (4%) and then the vegan diet (1%). This means around 6.5 million British adults are currently eating meat-free.

The UK’s current diet

Current diet
Table

Diet	Percentage
Already a Vegetarian	6.90%
Already a Pescatarian	4.10%
Already a Vegan	1.30%
Aren't following a specific diet	87.70%

The UK’s diet intentions by the end of 2019

Despite the relatively low numbers of non-meat eaters currently, many intend to change their diets over 2019. Almost 12 million Brits (22%) say they will follow a vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian diet by the end of this year. If these people follow through with their plans, around 10% will be following a vegetarian diet, 7% will follow a pescatarian diet and 6% will be following a vegan diet.

Intentions
Table

Intention	Percentage
Already/Intend to be Vegetarian	9.90%
Already/Intend to be Pescatarian	6.85%
Already/Intend to be Vegan	5.55%
Aren't/ Don't intend to follow a specific diet	77.70%

Diet changes

The diet that will have the most new recruits in 2019 looks set to be veganism, as 2.2 million intend to take up this lifestyle. This would see the total number of vegans increase by a remarkable 327%, to a total of 2.9 million people.

Type of diet	Current population	Intend to start diet by end of 2019	Population by end of 2019	% change
No-specific diet	45,957,733	-5,240,334	40,717,398	-11%
Vegan	681,243	2,227,142	2,908,386	327%
Vegetarian	3,615,831	1,572,100	5,187,931	43%
Pescatarian	2,148,537	1,441,092	3,589,629	67%

Despite the potentially huge increase of vegans, vegetarianism remains the most popular of the major diets. It already has 3.6 million followers and an additional 1.5 million people are looking to ditch the steak in favour of greener pastures in 2019. This would bring the total vegetarian population up to 5.2 million.

Aspiring pescatarians are also on the rise. In fact, the pescatarian diet is likely to see numbers increase by a whopping 67 percent this year, bringing the total number of pescatarians to 3.6 million.

When you look at the costs on a national scale you can see the huge financial impact of changing consumer trends. If everyone followed through with their dietary plans in 2019, Brits would spend an additional £4.6bn on vegan diets, £2.8bn on pescatarian diets and £2.4bn on vegetarian diets over a year. This would equal a shift of £9.9bn from omnivore diets to meat-free ones.

UK total yearly cost of each diet

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Which generations are ditching the meat?

Generationally, the percentage of people who eat meat, and don’t currently intend to change, increases with age. While 94 percent of those in the silent generation (born before 1945) and 86 percent of baby boomers eat meat, this figure drops to under two thirds (63%) for post-millennials (born after 1996).

Diet costs total
Table

Generation	Percentage of meat eaters
Silent (Born 1928-1945)	94%
Boomers (Born 1946-1964)	86%
Generation X (Born 1965-1980)	74%
Millennials (Born 1981-1996)	71%
Postmillennial/Generation Z (Born after 1996)	63%

Which regions of the UK are ditching the meat?

London (30%) and the North East (30%) of the UK see the highest proportion of residents either currently or intending to be meat-free by 2019. The survey suggests that three in every ten people in these locations will be meat-free by the end of the year. In contrast, East Anglia sees the lowest percentage of meat-free dieters, with only 13% of residents taking part in vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian diet.

Diet costs total
Table

Region	Percentage
East of England	13%
East Midlands	18%
London	30%
North East	30%
North West	22%
Northern Ireland	24%
Scotland	20%
South East	22%
South West	19%
Wales	24%
West Midlands	24%
Yorshire and the Humber	19%

UK total yearly cost of each diet

Year	Vegetarian	Pescetarian	Vegan	Non-specific
November 2018	5,600,000,000	4,200,000,000	1,400,000,000	92,000,000,000
November 2019	8,000,000,000	7,100,000,000	6,000,000,000	81,500,000,000

Commenting on the findings, Reemul Balla, shopping specialist at Finder said:

Although the number of people who turned meat-free has dropped significantly last year, this year’s findings still show that adopting a veggie diet continues to remain popular across the country.

Meat-free diets and being ‘flexitarian’ are getting more media exposure than ever so you would expect these positive trends to continue growing. However, it’s important to be savvy and shop around to make sure you’re not falling into traps with overpriced specialty products. A little bit of research and intuitiveness in the kitchen can go a long way. It will also be worth keeping an eye on how much inflation has spiked food prices this year.

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, 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
UK communications managerT: +44 20 8191 8806

Thank you for your feedback!

Georgia-Rose Johnson

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Georgia-Rose was a publisher at Finder.com and specialised in shopping and travel. She previously worked in retail and tourism and travelled extensively on a budget.

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How many vegetarians and vegans are in the UK?

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Quick overview

How many people in the UK are vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian in 2023?

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Previous research: UK's diet trends 2022

Previous research: UK's diet trends 2021

Previous research: UK's diet trends 2020

Previous research: UK's diet trends 2019

Commenting on the findings, Reemul Balla, shopping specialist at Finder said:

Methodology

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact:

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