Proportion of adults with high anxiety is greater than before pandemic
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%).
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