UK Survey: 49% of Gen Z Aged 16-29 in Steady Relationships vs 57% of Millennials at Same Age

A national UK survey found that 49 percent of Gen Z individuals aged 16-29 reported being in any kind of steady relationship, compared with 57 percent of millennials at the same life stage. Katherine Twamley at University College London and colleagues examined data from two rounds of a national survey that recorded relationship status and living arrangements.

The first round ran from 2010 to 2012 and captured millennials born between 1981 and 1996 when they were 16 to 29.

The second round, conducted from 2022 to 2024, surveyed Gen Z participants in the identical age range. The decline between the cohorts stems mainly from fewer Gen Z individuals living with their partners, Twamley said. When separate living arrangements were included, the share of young adults in relationships fell further than earlier studies had indicated.

Twamley presented the findings last month at the Love, Actually and in Theory conference in Edinburgh, UK. Maximiliane Uhlich, a researcher at the University of Basel in Switzerland who was not involved in the study, said the drop appears unprecedented.

Uhlich noted that Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with social media and smartphones, a factor visible in how members of the cohort approach interactions.

She added that the covid-19 pandemic occurred during a sensitive developmental period and may have affected social skills and the ability to form friendships or peer relationships. Twamley said rising house and rental prices are also forcing Gen Z adults to live with their parents for longer, which can make it harder to form stable relationships.

Uhlich suggested some Gen Z individuals may be more selective, having observed high divorce rates among their parents.