Metric permalink
Chronic loneliness
Part of the Trust and Wellbeing domain. Percentage of adults who report feeling often or always lonely, measuring the depth of social isolation across the population.
Latest data
Latest reading
May 2026
Change between the two latest observations (2024 to May 2026), in stress score.
A higher reading is treated as worse for this indicator.
Score composition
Stress score
Since the August 2026 release
What changed on this indicator between the two releases: method only.
Blended from two measured components: (2/3 weight) and trend (1/3 weight); where no trend can be computed the metric is scored on its level alone. Volatility is published as a diagnostic and does not enter the blend. Full formula on the methodology page.
Level · 2/3 weight
Bounds: scored against fixed best/worst limits, used until a metric has about eight years of verified data to rank against.
Trend · 1/3 weight
Measured from the direction and size of the change between the two most recent readings.
Volatility · diagnostic, not blended
50Provisional: fewer than four historical readings are available, so this defaults to a mid range score rather than a measured figure.
Data confidence and provenance
Confidence and source
How much weight to put on the reading, the mean data-confidence across the component metrics (source quality, recency and completeness).
Source
Opinions and Lifestyle Survey
- Update frequency
- Periodic
- Reliability
- medium
Provenance
- Provider
- ONS (Opinions and Lifestyle Survey)
- Series ID
- OPN chronic loneliness
- Frequency
- periodic
- Accessed
- 23 June 2026
Known weakness
ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey is a small quota sample with periodic fieldwork; the loneliness question is not asked consistently, limiting time-series continuity.
Notes
Verified official value from ONS (Opinions and Lifestyle Survey) (OPN chronic loneliness), accessed 2026-06-23.
Historical values
History
| Period | Value | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | |
| May 2026 | 8 |