Loneliness in older people in the UK: what the figures say and where to find help

What loneliness in later life looks like

The Campaign to End Loneliness describes loneliness as a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship, arising when the relationships we have do not match the ones we want.⁹ It is linked to social isolation, which is a lack of contact with other people, but it is not the same thing.⁹ Feeling lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone.⁹

That difference matters in practice. Someone can be surrounded by family and still feel lonely, and someone else can spend most of the day on their own and be content.

Age UK lists changes that can set loneliness off. Retirement can bring less socialising and less structure to the week.⁵ A house move, the end of a relationship or the death of someone close can do it too, as can a change in health or confidence.⁵

The Campaign adds a list of risk factors linked to age: bereavement, living alone, a disability or limiting illness, a low fixed income such as a pension that makes activities unaffordable, digital exclusion, and loss of mobility or transport.¹¹ None of these makes loneliness certain. They are circumstances to notice, in yourself or in someone you know.

The NHS says most people feel lonely sometimes, for many different reasons.¹ Age UK adds that you have every right not to want to talk about it, and that it is never too late to tell someone how you are feeling.⁷

How common is it? What the UK figures say, and what they do not

Be careful with headline numbers. Some are about older people, some about every adult, and they are not interchangeable. The table below keeps each figure with its group, place and date.

Two sums help to read the table. One in 12 is 100 ÷ 12 = 8.3%, so Age UK’s figure for people aged 50 and over is a little above the all-age 7.1% figure, but the groups, places and years differ, so the two should not be compared directly.¹¹⁹ Since 2020 the chronic figure the Campaign reports has moved from 6% to 7.1%, a rise of 1.1 percentage points, or 3.83 − 3.24 = 0.59 million more people.⁹ The page does not give the year of the 7.1% figure.

Notice what is missing. No source read for this guide gives an ONS percentage for people aged 65 and over, so this page does not give one. The 7.1% and 49.63% figures cover adults of every age, not older people alone.

The same ONS article found that 16 to 24 year olds were more affected than the older groups.¹³ So it is wrong to say that loneliness is only a problem of old age. What the ONS did find is particular risk among people who are single or widowed, and among people in poor health or with a limiting condition.¹³ One of its three at-risk profiles was widowed older homeowners living alone with long-term health conditions.¹³

Age UK figures cited by the Campaign add that people aged 50 and over in England who are widowed are 5.2 times more likely to be often lonely.¹¹

On men and women, take care. The Campaign, citing ONS statistics, gives 7.7% of women and 6.3% of men as chronically lonely and says the levels are close.¹¹ It also cites NHS data in which 32% of men and 22% of women say they never feel lonely.¹¹ The ONS notes that men may be more reluctant than women to report feelings such as loneliness, which can affect the gaps that are measured.¹³ So the figures do not show that one sex is lonelier.

The government’s strategy, A connected society, was published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 15 October 2018 and sets out the approach to tackling loneliness in England.¹⁴ We read only the publication page, not the 84-page document, so we say nothing about what the strategy contains.

Health links: what the evidence says and does not say

Loneliness is linked with poorer health in several studies. The key word is “linked”. These are mostly observational studies, which follow people over time and cannot prove that loneliness is the cause.

A meta-analysis by Holt-Lunstad and colleagues in 2015 reported an odds ratio of 1.26 for loneliness and mortality, which the authors express as a 26% increase in the likelihood of death, with some adjustment for other factors.¹⁵ Living alone had an odds ratio of 1.32.¹⁵ The summary also says social deficits were more predictive of death in samples with an average age below 65.¹⁵

A review from the University of York, published in the journal Heart in 2016, linked poor social relationships with a 29% increase in the risk of coronary heart disease and 32% for stroke, in observational studies.¹⁶ The authors say further studies need to test whether acting on loneliness helps.¹⁶

The Campaign says the exact mechanisms by which loneliness could lead to poor health are difficult to demonstrate, and that the link between loneliness and mental health runs in both directions.¹⁰ It also cites figures that older people living alone are 50% more likely to use emergency care services and 40% more likely to have more than 12 GP appointments a year.¹⁰ These describe patterns of use, not cause and effect.

If you are worried about your own health, none of this is a verdict. It is a reason to keep in touch with people and to speak to your GP if your mood is low.

Help that exists: a quick guide

Age UK says that what helps one person may not help another, and that it might take a few tries to find something suitable, from an activity or club to a support group, online contact or volunteering.⁷ Use the table as a menu rather than a ladder.

A word on social prescribing. The NHS tells you to ask your GP about it, and says they may be able to refer you to a link worker.¹ The Campaign mentions that Community Connectors and Social Prescribers can also help you find opportunities for wellbeing.¹² We could not read the NHS England page on the scheme, so we do not describe it further.

The Campaign to End Loneliness itself says that it does not provide direct services or have a helpline.¹² For a person to speak to, use the services above.

One more NHS tip: try not to use alcohol, cigarettes, gambling or drugs to relieve loneliness, because they can make mental health worse.¹

What family, friends and neighbours can do

Age UK’s advice for someone worried about a person they know starts with encouraging them to talk, without pushing. If they are not ready, it is best not to push too hard; let them know you are there and make plans together.⁶ A walk together can be easier than a face-to-face chat, and a text or phone call can open the conversation.⁶

Age UK lists signs to notice: a routine that is slipping, less care taken over themselves, irregular meals and withdrawing from activities.⁶ It also says that finding the solution is not the carer’s responsibility.⁶ You do not have to fix it. You can be someone who turns up.

The NHS page on how to help a lonely older person suggests that a neighbour can stop to talk, and offer help with shopping, collecting prescriptions or getting to an appointment.² It says to speak clearly without shouting, pause, and allow a little extra time for a reply.² It suggests that a weekly phone call to an isolated older person is a contribution in itself.² That page passed its review date of 16 September 2025 and was last reviewed on 16 September 2022, so treat it as general good sense rather than current guidance.

Ten small gestures, each about ten minutes

These are our suggestions, built on the advice above. They are not an official list.

1. Ring at the same time each week, so the call is something to look forward to.
2. Send a text or a photo of what you saw today.
3. Offer a short walk rather than a long visit.
4. Ask one question and listen to the whole answer.
5. Drop in on the way to the shops and ask if they need anything.
6. Post a card or a printed photograph.
7. Share a meal, even a cup of tea.
8. Help set up a phone or tablet call, if they want to try one.
9. Look up the local Age UK together and ask about befriending.
10. Say what you will do next, and then do it.

Sharing life stories as a way to connect

In our view, asking someone about their life gives you something to talk about that is not their health or their problems. Our questions to ask grandparents has questions to start with, and our guide to writing your life story shows one way to keep the answers. A memory book for grandma, a family history book or a legacy letter can follow.

As for the research, be modest about what it shows. A 2022 meta-analysis in JAMA Network Open reviewed 70 studies with 8,259 participants; the 44 studies in its loneliness analysis included people aged 55 to 100. It concluded that most interventions to reduce loneliness had a small effect, and reminiscence was among the approaches studied.¹⁷

The reminiscence evidence is mixed and mostly comes from care homes. A review of group reminiscence in long-term care found an effect on depression but limited research support for loneliness and anxiety.¹⁸ A review of 15 studies in long-term care associated reminiscence with some of the greatest decreases in loneliness, while noting the lack of standard measures and good-quality studies.¹⁹ A review of 27 studies of community reminiscence programmes reported reductions in depression, anxiety and loneliness and said sharing memories may contribute to social outcomes.²⁰ A review of biographical approaches in long-term care called the findings inconsistent, with the clearest effect on life satisfaction.²¹

Put simply: telling and hearing life stories may be a pleasant way of spending time together, and some research is encouraging, but the studies do not show that a book or a digital tool reduces loneliness. We make no such claim.

Where Memory fits

Chutex offers Memory, a service in preparation in which Aria, an AI, helps a person tell their life story, keeps the memories they choose to share and can prepare a book they review together. The service has its own page on this site: Chutex Memory.

Memory is not a treatment, and it is not an answer to loneliness. It gives no diagnosis, it is not a health professional and it does not replace one, or replace a phone call, a visit or the services above. At most, it is a way of recording and keeping a life story.

Frequently asked questions