What New Year’s resolutions are Britons making for 2024?

Matthew SmithHead of Data Journalism
December 21, 2023, 9:00 AM GMT+0

Only 31% of those who say they made resolutions for 2023 say they have kept to them all

As 2023 draws to a close, many Britons’ minds are turning to the year ahead and the opportunities the changing calendar provides for self-improvement.

A new YouGov survey shows that 16% of Britons intend to make a New Year’s resolution for 2024.

Younger Britons are especially likely to set some goals for next year, at 29% among the 18-24 year olds and 22% among 25-49 year olds. Women are also slightly more likely to be making pledges than men, by 19% to 13%.

Topping the list, as it usually does, is the goal of doing more exercise or otherwise improving physical fitness. Most of those making New Year’s resolutions for next year say this is one of them (56%).

Other common pledges are saving more money (49%), losing weight (45%), and improving diet (42%).

After this point there is a drop to the next tier of resolutions, which include spending less time on social media (21%), pursuing a career ambition (20%), spending more time with family (20%) and taking up a new hobby (19%).

How many kept to their 2023 New Year’s resolutions?

When it comes to their record of success, 31% of those who made 2023 resolutions claim to have kept to all of them, while 50% say they have managed to stick to some. Only 16% confess to having failed at all of their promises to themselves.

Previous YouGov research over the course of 2017 tracked how good at keeping to resolutions Britons were over the course of the year. The results that year found that just six days into the year one in five had already failed some of their resolutions.

See the full results here

Photo: Getty