Love is in the air

Three in four Australians are satisfied they are loved, with Boomers the most loved up demographic, however satisfaction with romance and our sex lives is on the wane, according to the latest Ipsos Love Life Satisfaction Survey, released today.

Ipsos, one of the world's leading market research companies, has announced the findings of its latest 30-country study looking at how people feel about love, romance and relationships. 

Key Australian findings

• Three in four Australians say they are satisfied they feel loved.  This is has not changed markedly in the past 12 months (down only 1%). Boomers are feeling the most love (80%) and Generation X the least (70%).
• We are less satisfied with our romantic or sex lives, with only 53% saying they are satisfied, again a marginal drop on last year (1%).  On this measure Gen X are again lagging behind (46%), with Millennials the most sexually satisfied (59%).
• Among those with partners, there is high levels of satisfaction with their relationship (85%) and this is relatively consistent across generations. This measure is the standout in that it is not only much higher but also up 5% on last year. Interestingly, the Ipsos data also shows that those satisfied with their relationship are also likely to be satisfied with their romantic/sex life.
• In Australia we see a smaller correlation between income and feeling loved, with 73% of low-income people expressing satisfaction with feeling loved versus 77% of medium-income and high-income people.

Ipsos Public Affairs Deputy Managing Director, David Elliott, said: “This latest survey shows that Australians’ satisfaction with feeling loved and their romantic and sex lives has remained steady over the past 12 months, after decreasing last year as  cost of living impacts really kicked in.  Interestingly this year, those in relationships have shown an increase in their satisfaction.  Perhaps for some the constant cost of living pressure led them to concentrate less on the things they can’t control more on the things they can, like quality time with your partner.”
 

Key global findings:

• Love is in the air. More say they feel loved than 12 months ago with more people in 23 of the 30 countries surveyed feeling there is more love in their life. Italy (up 10 percentage points), Sweden and Chile (both up 9 percentage points respectively) have seen the greatest increase in satisfaction.
• Money does buy (love life) happiness. Those with a higher income are more likely to feel loved and be more satisfied with their sex lives. A total of 83% of high-income earners are satisfied with the love in their life and 67% are satisfied with their sex life. For low-income earners, 69% feel loved and only 51% are happy with their sex life.
• LATAM is where love is highest. Mexico, Chile (both 86%) and Colombia (85%) are the countries where people are most likely to say they feel loved. And Colombians (74%) and Mexicans (72%) are also the most likely to be satisfied with their romantic and sex lives. In nine of the 11 European countries covered in this survey, people are less happy with their romantic and sex life compared to 12 months ago.
• Millennials most satisfied with their sex lives. Millennials, those aged in their 30s and early 40s, are happier with their romantic and sex lives than other generations. A total of 63% of Millennials are satisfied with this part of their lives compared to 58% of Gen Z and Gen X and 55% of Baby Boomers.
• However, fewer are satisfied with their sex lives in general. In 21 of the 30 countries surveyed the proportion of people happy with their romantic or sex lives has declined in the last 12 months.
• Most are happy with their relationship. Across the countries surveyed, 82% of those in a relationship say they are satisfied with their partner/spouse. This is highest in Thailand and the Netherlands (both 92%).