The YouGov Death Study: Living forever and reincarnation

Milan DinicDirector - Content Strategy and Innovation
October 06, 2021, 1:40 PM GMT+0

Will it be possible to live forever?

Extending the human life span and aiming to defeat death has long been debated in medicine. The YouGov Death Study can reveal that just 10% of Britons think that humans will one day be able to live forever. Nearly three-quarters of Britons (73%) think that this won’t ever become possible.

More men (13%) than women (7%) think it will be possible one day for humans to live forever.

Who wants to live forever?

Britons are split when it comes to the wanting to live forever. In the event that it were possible to live forever in a manner whereby you stopped ageing, kept your body at the age you most desire, and kept your mental capabilities, four in ten (41%) Britons say they would like to do so. An equal number (42%) say they would not.

Half (50%) of 16-24-year-olds say they would not like to live forever under these conditions, while 39% said they would. These numbers are similar for the oldest Britons: 46% wouldn’t want to live forever, while 36% would.

Men (45%) are more likely than women (37%) to say they’d like eternal life.

An equal percentage of religious (38-42%) and non-religious (42%) Britons say they would like to live forever in this way.

Britons would like to live again

Half (52%) of Britons say they would like to have another life after they die. Just under a quarter (23%) say they wouldn’t, and 25% are not sure.

While 60% of those aged 16-24 and half of those 25-59 (52-53%) would like to have another life after death, this view is shared by under half (47%) of those 60 and over.

See the full results here

Explore more data & articles