Valentine's Day: How satisfied are people with their love life?

While Millennials are more likely to be satisfied with their romantic or sex life, Boomers are those who most tend to feel loved, according to Ipsos’s Global Love Life Satisfaction survey released ahead of Valentine’s Day. On average, across 32 countries, more than four in five people who are married or partnered (84%) say they are satisfied with the relationship they have with their spouse or partner, while only two in three of all adults (63%) say they are satisfied with their romantic or sex life.

Majorities in nearly all 32 countries feel loved: on average, three in four (76%) say they are very or somewhat satisfied with how much they feel loved, while one in five (21%) say they are not. The likelihood of feeling loved is highest in the Netherlands (90%), Indonesia (87%), Argentina (84%) and China (84%). It is lowest in Japan (49%), South Korea (53%) and Belgium (64%).

• Feeling loved is more common among Boomers (80%) than it is among Gen Xers (75%), Millennials (76%), and Gen Zers (76%).
• Those who are married or in a committed relationship (83%) are also more likely to feel loved than those who are single (70%).

Among all adults, a global average of 63% say they are satisfied with their romantic or sex life, while half as many (30%) say they are not. Adults in China (79%), Indonesia (75%) and Thailand (75%) are most likely to report being satisfied with their romantic or sex life. The only two countries surveyed where fewer are satisfied with it than dissatisfied are Japan (34% vs. 49%) and South Korea (44% vs. 51%).

• Millennials (68%) are most likely to be satisfied with their romantic or sex life, compared to Gen Xers (62%), Gen Zers (59%), and Boomers (61%).
• Married/partnered adults (75%) are also more likely than single adults (54%) to be satisfied with it.

On average, only 14% of those in a couple say they are not very or not at all satisfied with their relationship with their spouse or partner, while 84% say they are somewhat or very satisfied. Married or partnered people in Indonesia (94%), the Netherlands (94%), Thailand (90%) and Malaysia (90%) are the most likely to be satisfied with their relationship, while those in Japan (70%) and South Korea (73%) are the least likely.

• Those from high-income households (87%) and with higher education (86%) are slightly more likely to be satisfied with their relationship with their partner or spouse than those from middle-and low-income households (82% and 80%, respectively) and those with a middle or lower level of education (also 82% and 80%, respectively).

Notably, at a global level, there is no significant difference in how satisfied men and women are with their love life. Men and women are nearly equally likely to be satisfied with their spouse or partner if they have one (85% for men and 83% for women), with their romantic or sex life (63% for both), and with how much they feel loved (75% for men and 76% for women).

About the study 

These are the findings of a 32-country Ipsos survey conducted December 22, 2022 – January 6, 2023, among 22,508 adults aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore, and 16-74 in 24 other countries, via Ipsos’s Global Advisor online survey platform.