Proportion of adults with high anxiety is greater than before pandemic

The proportion of UK adults who feel high levels of anxiety in their daily lives remains greater than before the Covid-19 pandemic, new figures suggest.

Some 22.6% of people questioned by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October-December 2024 said they experienced a high amount of anxiety.

This is higher than at any point between 2015 and 2019.

During those five years, the proportion never rose above 21.3% and occasionally dipped as low as 18.9%.

By contrast, in the five years from 2020 to 2024 the figure has ranged from a high of 25.2% in October-December 2020 to a low of 21.2% in April-June 2021.

The peak of 25.2% came at the start of the second wave of the Covid-19 virus, while the low coincided with the roll-out of the first vaccines.

The ONS has carried out a survey of wellbeing in the UK since 2011.

The quarterly survey is based on four measures: anxiety; happiness; satisfaction with life; and feeling things in life are worthwhile.

Some 8.5% of adults surveyed in the most recent quarter (October-December 2024) reported low levels of happiness, while 5.3% said they had a low satisfaction with life.

Both these figures were broadly unchanged on levels before the pandemic.

The proportion of women (26.2%) reporting high levels of anxiety in the latest quarter was “statistically significantly higher” than for men (18.8%), the ONS said.

Among age groups, 50-54 year-olds had the highest level of anxiety (25.5%) while 80-84 year-olds had the lowest (18.8%).