Understanding loneliness
How common is loneliness?
Loneliness touches every age and every country. Here are the most reliable numbers from the WHO, the U.S. Surgeon General and Gallup.
Do this first
If you feel alone right now, remember this: millions of people feel the same way today, in every country and at every age. Feeling alone is common. It is not a sign that you are failing.
When you feel alone, it can seem like everyone else has friends, plans and people to call. The numbers tell a different story. Loneliness is one of the most common human experiences on earth.
Different surveys ask different questions, so their numbers do not match exactly. That is normal. What matters is that every large study finds the same thing: a lot of people feel this way.
Around the world
In 2025 the World Health Organization (WHO) published the report of its Commission on Social Connection. It found:
- Loneliness affects People worldwide affected by loneliness (WHO Commission on Social Connection, 2025)As of June 30, 2025.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025) people worldwide.
- Loneliness is linked to an estimated Deaths each year worldwide linked to loneliness (WHO, 2025 estimate)As of June 30, 2025.WHO describes this as about 100 deaths every hour. It is an estimate of deaths linked to loneliness, not deaths with loneliness as the only cause.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025) deaths a year, which WHO describes as Deaths every hour worldwide linked to loneliness (WHO, 2025 estimate)As of June 30, 2025.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025) every hour. (This is a link found in research, not a claim that loneliness alone caused each death.)
- In low-income countries, about People in low-income countries who report feeling lonely (WHO, 2025)As of June 30, 2025.About twice the rate in high-income countries.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025) of people report feeling lonely, roughly twice the rate in high-income countries (People in high-income countries who report feeling lonely (WHO, 2025)As of June 30, 2025.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025)).
- Social isolation is estimated to affect Older adults worldwide estimated to be socially isolated (WHO, 2025)As of June 30, 2025.WHO says data on social isolation are more limited than data on loneliness.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025) older adults and Adolescents worldwide estimated to be socially isolated (WHO, 2025)As of June 30, 2025.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025) adolescents.
A separate global survey by Gallup and Meta, covering 142 countries, found that People 15 and older in 142 countries who feel very or fairly lonely (Meta-Gallup, 2022–2023)As of October 24, 2023.Survey fielded June 2022 to February 2023, about 1,000 people per country. China was not included.Source: Gallup: Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely (2023) of people aged 15 and older felt very or fairly lonely. At the same time, People in 142 countries who feel very or fairly connected to others (Meta-Gallup, 2022–2023)As of October 24, 2023.Source: Gallup: The Global State of Social Connections felt very or fairly connected to others. Both can be true: many people feel connected in some ways and lonely in others.
In the United States
- The U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory reported that U.S. adults reporting measurable loneliness, even before COVID-19 (Surgeon General, 2023)As of May 3, 2023.Based on surveys taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.Source: U.S. Surgeon General: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation (2023) of U.S. adults reported measurable loneliness, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In a 2024 Gallup survey, U.S. adults who felt lonely a lot of the day yesterday (Gallup Panel, Aug–Sep 2024)As of September 4, 2024.6,289 U.S. adults surveyed online. Pandemic peaks were about 25%.Source: Gallup: Daily Loneliness Afflicts One in Five in U.S. (2024) of U.S. adults said they felt lonely "a lot of the day yesterday".
- According to the National Academies, Americans 65 and older living in the community who are socially isolated (National Academies, 2020)As of February 27, 2020.Source: National Academies: Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults (2020) Americans aged 65 and older who live in the community (not in care homes) are socially isolated.
Less time with friends
The Surgeon General's advisory used the American Time Use Survey, a large government survey of how people spend their days. It found that Americans spent Time Americans spent in person with friends per day, 2020 (Surgeon General, 2023)As of May 3, 2023.From American Time Use Survey data cited in the Surgeon General's advisory.Source: PBS NewsHour / AP: Loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking, U.S. surgeon general says (2023) a day in person with friends in 2020, down from Time Americans spent in person with friends per day, about two decades before 2020 (Surgeon General, 2023)As of May 3, 2023.The advisory compares 2003 with 2020.Source: PBS NewsHour / AP: Loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking, U.S. surgeon general says (2023) in 2003. For people aged 15 to 24, time with friends fell by Drop in time Americans aged 15 to 24 spent with friends, 2003 to 2020 (Surgeon General, 2023)As of May 3, 2023.The largest drop of any age group in the advisory.Source: KPBS / NPR: America has a loneliness epidemic. Here are 6 steps to address it (2023), the biggest drop of any age group.
The 2020 numbers include the start of the pandemic, but the decline began long before it.
Every age group
Loneliness is often pictured as an older person's problem. The research does not support that.
| Group | What surveys find |
|---|---|
| Teens and young adults (13 to 29) | WHO: People aged 13 to 29 worldwide who report feeling lonely (WHO, 2025)As of June 30, 2025.The highest rates were among teenagers.Source: WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (30 June 2025) report feeling lonely, with teenagers highest |
| Adults 19 to 29, worldwide | Gallup-Meta: Adults aged 19 to 29 in 142 countries who feel very or fairly lonely (Meta-Gallup, 2022–2023)As of October 24, 2023.Source: Gallup: Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely (2023) very or fairly lonely |
| Adults 65 and older, worldwide | Gallup-Meta: Adults 65 and older in 142 countries who feel very or fairly lonely (Meta-Gallup, 2022–2023)As of October 24, 2023.Source: Gallup: Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely (2023) very or fairly lonely |
| U.S. men aged 15 to 34 | Gallup: U.S. men aged 15 to 34 who felt lonely a lot of the previous day (Gallup World Poll, 2023–2024)As of May 20, 2025.The U.S. average in the same data was 18%.Source: Gallup: Younger Men in the U.S. Among the Loneliest in West (2025) lonely a lot of the previous day, against All U.S. adults who felt lonely a lot of the previous day (Gallup World Poll, 2023–2024)As of May 20, 2025.Source: Gallup: Younger Men in the U.S. Among the Loneliest in West (2025) for all U.S. adults |
| Men and women, worldwide | Gallup-Meta: about Men and women in 142 countries who feel very or fairly lonely, each (Meta-Gallup, 2022–2023)As of October 24, 2023.The same share for men and for women worldwide, though some countries show gaps either way.Source: Gallup: Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely (2023) each |
Older adults are more likely to be isolated (living alone, losing a spouse, health problems). Younger people are often more likely to feel lonely. Both matter. For your age group, see Loneliness across generations.
Rich and poor, city and country
Loneliness shows up everywhere: in wealthy nations and poor ones, in big cities and small villages. Money does not protect anyone from it, though money worries can make it worse (see Money worries, job loss and low income). People in rural areas can be far from others, while people in big cities can feel alone among millions.
Why the numbers matter to you
- You are not strange or broken. Hundreds of millions of people share this feeling.
- The people around you may feel it too. The coworker, neighbor or classmate who seems fine may be waiting for someone to say hello first.
- Governments and health agencies now treat it as a real health issue, not a personal weakness. That is why there is more help than there used to be.
Try one this week
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Chances are good they would welcome it.
Many people answer, "Me too."
Where to go next
Sources
- WHO: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (2025)
- WHO Commission on Social Connection: From loneliness to social connection (2025)
- U.S. Surgeon General: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation (2023)
- Gallup: Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely (2023)
- Gallup: The Global State of Social Connections
- Gallup: Daily Loneliness Afflicts One in Five in U.S. (2024)
- Gallup: Younger Men in the U.S. Among the Loneliest in West (2025)
- National Academies: Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults (2020)
- PBS NewsHour / AP: Loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking (2023)
Last reviewed: October 9, 2026