Attitudes to love, romance and relationships

Key findings

• Love is in the air. More say they feel loved than 12 months ago.
• Money does buy (love life) happiness. Those are a higher income are more likely to feel loved and be more satisfied with their sex lives. 
• 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. 
• Millennials most satisfied with their sex lives. 
• However, fewer are satisfied with their sex lives in general. 
• Most happy with their relationship. Eighty-two per cent of those in a relationship say they are satisfied with their partner/spouse.

The Love Life Satisfaction Index

The Love Life Satisfaction Index brings together how people feel about love, romance and relationships in a single indicator. It finds how satisfied people are with the love in their life, their sex lives and their relationship with their partner.

Countries in LATAM and Asia are most satisfied with their “love lives”. Colombians top the table for being the most happy generally about their love life and the most satisfied with their sex lives in particular.

Thailand ranks second on the index and Thais are the most satisfied with their partners. Japan and South Korea have the lowest level of satisfaction among the countries surveyed for this report.

Brazil is outlier in Latin America, being the only country from the region in the bottom half of the table. Meanwhile the Netherlands and Spain are the only European countries to make it into the top ten, while much of the region is, relatively speaking, lacking satisfaction with their love lives compared to the rest of the world.

Love

More say they feel loved than 12 months ago with a greater number of people in 23 of the 30 countries surveyed feeling there is more love in their life. Italy (up 10pp), Sweden and Chile (both up 9pp respectively) have seen the greatest increase in satisfaction.

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. 

Money does bring love life happiness with those on a higher income more likely to feel loved and be happier with their romantic/sex lives.

Eighty-three per cent of high-income earners across 30 countries say they are satisfied with the love in their life compared to 76% of those on a middle income and 69% on a low income.

The same is true when it comes to their romantic/sex life. Sixty-seven of people with a high income are satisfied with their sex life compared to only 51% of low-income earners. 

Romantic/sex lives

Millennials, those aged in their 30s and early 40s are happier with their romantic and sex lives than other generations. 63% of Millennials are satisfied with this part of their lives compared to 58% of Gen and Gen X and 55% of Baby Boomers.  

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.  

Happiness with sex life and partner are correlated. People in countries that are more satisfied with their relationship with their partner are more likely to be happy with their romantic/sex life.

However, there are countries that are outliers. In Brazil, South Korea and India people are less satisfied with their partner compared to their level of satisfaction with their romantic/sex life overall.

Relationships 

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%). 

Majorities in all countries are happy with their relationship. While India and South Korea rank at the bottom of the list for satisfaction with their partner or spouse, two-thirds in both countries are happy with this part of their life.