One in 20 English youths now have no close friends, IPPR finds
The IPPR’s latest report shows that 5 % of 11‑ to 24‑year‑olds in England report having no close friends – a five‑fold rise since 2014 – and that the share with three or more friends has fallen to 72 %.
One in 20 young people in England now report having no close friends, up from one in 100 in 2014, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report cited by The Guardian on 1 September 2026.
What the numbers show
The IPPR’s "the loneliest generation" report provides two key friendship metrics for 11‑ to 24‑year‑olds. In the 2014 baseline, 1 % of this age group said they had no close friends. The latest measurement for the period 2023‑25 finds that share at 5 % – a five‑fold increase.
At the same time, the proportion of young people with at least three close friends fell from 85 % in 2012‑14 to 72 % in 2023‑25. Both changes are presented in the table below.
| Metric | 2014 / 2012‑14 | 2023‑25 |
|---|---|---|
| No close friends | 1 % | 5 % |
| Three or more close friends | 85 % | 72 % |
| Source: The Guardian (quoting IPPR report) | ||
Drivers behind the rise
IPPR associate director Avnee Morjaria attributes the surge to a combination of structural and cultural factors. She cites "youth club closures, unaffordable housing, the popularity of TikTok and a loss of self‑esteem among young people" as the main drivers. The report also links the trend to broader austerity measures, the COVID‑19 pandemic and increased social‑media use.
These drivers are not presented as a causal proof but as the think‑tank’s interpretation of the data. The Guardian article repeats Morjaria’s quotation verbatim, providing a clear line of attribution.
Why the findings matter now
The timing of the release is significant. The data were published on 1 September 2026, just as the UK Parliament debates additional mental‑health funding and the European Commission considers new digital‑wellbeing regulations. Policymakers can now point to a concrete, UK‑specific statistic – five percent of young people reporting no close friends – when arguing for resources or regulatory action.
However, the report does not quantify how many of those without close friends are also experiencing mental‑health disorders, nor does it break down the figures by region, gender or socioeconomic status. Those gaps leave open questions about which sub‑groups are most at risk and what targeted interventions might be most effective.
Unanswered questions and next steps
The IPPR report stops short of offering policy prescriptions. It notes the association with austerity and the pandemic but does not provide evidence on the relative weight of each factor. Moreover, the data cover the period up to 2025; any changes in 2026 and beyond remain unmeasured.
Future research could examine whether the rise in loneliness is mirrored in other UK nations, or whether the trend is unique to England. It could also explore the role of specific digital platforms beyond TikTok, and assess the impact of recent youth‑service funding cuts.
For now, the headline figure – one in 20 English youths lacking a close friend – offers a stark benchmark for the ongoing debate about mental‑health spending and digital‑wellbeing policy.
