14% surveyed describe themselves as naturists or nudists, with naturists defined as people who engage in activities such as sunbathing and swimming without clothes

An Ipsos survey recently commissioned by British Naturism among UK adults aged 16-75 found that 14% of those polled describe themselves as Naturists or Nudists.

Skinny-dipping in particular is very popular, with 21% of respondents saying they’ve swum without a costume before.

Other key findings of the survey:

• Respondents were asked to select any activities that they had ever done before (not including anything they had done as a young child) from a list of four (swum without a costume, sunbathed without a costume to get an all-over tan, been on a foreign Naturist beach or visited a British clothes-optional beach resort or club). Over one-third (39%) selected at least one of the activities shown.
• Respondents were asked on how many occasions, if any, they had been naked in the company of people (i.e. either in-person or via videoconferencing) other than their partner, immediate family or in a healthcare setting. Over 1 in 5 respondents (22%) said they have done this on at least one occasion in the past 12 months.
• Participation appears to be higher among young adults than older people, with almost half (47%) of 16-24 year-old respondents having done this at least once in the past 12 months compared with 6% of respondents aged 45 – 75.

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a quota sample of 2,249 adults aged 16-75 in UK using its online i:omnibus between 6th and 7th July 2022. Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions for age, working status and social grade within gender and government office region. All participants were informed that “naturists” are people who engage in activities such as sunbathing and swimming without clothes.