Life in the UK 2025
Think tank: Carnegie UK
Author(s): Carnegie UK
October 27, 2025
This report from UK think tank Carnegie UK measures collective wellbeing across the UK.
At Carnegie UK, we are delighted to present the third edition of our Life in the UK index, a landmark research programme we have now committed to delivering until at least 2030. This year’s findings offer a nuanced picture of collective wellbeing across the UK, with persistent challenges, but also some emerging signs of hope.
The UK’s overall collective wellbeing score sits at 62 out of 100, largely unchanged from recent years. While this stagnation is once again concerning, we do now see some modest improvements in important policy areas. Economic wellbeing has edged up to 72 since 2023, with more people saying they are able to afford to heat their homes and socialise outside their homes, small but meaningful shifts.
Social wellbeing stands at 73, and within this we have seen some slight improvements in mental and general health. Environmental wellbeing holds steady at 63, albeit with growing dissatisfaction around noise pollution and litter. Once again, however, it is the democratic wellbeing of people across the UK that stands out as the cause for most concern, recording the lowest overall score at just 41 out of 100.
Underlying all these results is the inescapable fact that significant and damaging inequalities persist across all parts of the UK. Disabled people, those in social housing, and individuals in more deprived areas continue to report significantly lower wellbeing across all domains. These gaps are not new, but they remain urgent.
Our data shows that our collective wellbeing is shaped by an interplay of income, housing, age, disability, ethnicity, and place. We believe that everyone should have what they need to live well together. The improvements we’ve seen this year, however small, are a testament to the power of policy and practice to drive change in people’s lives. But the scale of the challenges highlighted in this year’s index demands bolder and more joined-up action across government.
