New Years Resolutions Statistics (2023 – 2024)

The new year has arrived, which means it’s time for New year’s resolutions again.

In  this post, we’ll take a look at New year’s resolutions statistics:

• What percentage of new year’s resolutions fail
• How big percentage of new year’s resolutions succeed
• The most common new year’s resolutions
• What percentage of new year’s resolutions fail by february
• The most popular new year’s resolutions
• The most common new year’s resolutions 2023

Every year, we hear about the most popular New year’s resolutions (often health-related resolutions)

• eat healthier
• get fit
• save money
• quit smoking
• drink more water
• earn more money

While hearing that very few people achieve them because they lose motivation in their first week, so their resolutions fail.

We’ve got you covered, so don’t worry.

Here are some interesting new year’s resolutions statistics to make you feel better about abandoning your resolution by the middle of January.

We’re ecstatic to share with you a list of New Year’s resolve stats that will leave you stunned.

We’ve done the research and compiled a list of items to keep in mind as you head into 2024.

You’ll not only see the regular patterns in New year’s resolutions statistics, but you’ll also learn some fascinating information about them.

Key New Years Resolutions Statistics

Here are some key new year’s resolutions statistics that show you are not alone in abandoning your new year’s resolutions.

1. Almost 80% of US residents made New Year’s resolutions for 2022.
2. New Year’s resolutions are more popular among Americans under thirty.
3. 20% of Americans are focused on one objective at a time.
4. 17% of the British public said they would make a New Year’s resolution.
5. Fewer people said they would resolve than in 2021.
6. Half of Americans will make New Year’s resolutions to get into shape.
7. The epidemic influenced people’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2022.
8. 54% of US citizens intend to make minor modifications to their goals.
9. 75% of Americans intended to make long-term beneficial changes.
10. 10% of Americans keep their intentions.
11. 75% of people keep a New Year’s Resolution for at least a week.
12. 80% of New Year’s resolutions have failed.
13. 46 % of Americans can keep their objectives for a year.
14. 35% of those polled believe they will achieve their new years resolutions.

Who Makes New Years Resolutions?

Have you ever wondered how many people actually make New Year’s resolutions? It might surprise you to learn that a recent study discovered that over 40% of individuals do indeed set resolutions for themselves.

This means that close to half of all people decide to make some sort of change in their lives or about themselves as they enter the year on January 1st.

1. 80% of US residents made New Year’s resolutions for 2023

According to a survey conducted by Gallup it turns out that 80% of residents in the United States made New Year’s resolutions specifically for the year 2023.

When examining the statistics on New Year’s resolutions it becomes apparent that many individuals were primarily concerned with

• prioritizing exercise and adopting eating habits.
• focused on contemporary goals such as reducing social media usage (21%)
• managing work related stress (21%)

2. New Year’s resolutions are more popular if you’re under 30

Based on a YouGov poll commissioned by the Economist and YouGov America it was found that more than

1. 40% of Americans expressed their intention to make New Year’s resolutions in 2022.
2. Among adult citizens 23% mentioned contemplating a resolution as a whole with this inclination being more prevalent among younger individuals (around 23%).
3. Conversely according to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation 14% of individuals aged 65 and above had plans to make New Year’s resolutions in 2023.
4. On the other hand , a significant majority of those under the age of 30 (60%) stated their intention to make such resolutions.

3. 20% of Americans are focused on a single New year’s resolution

1. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos and Urban Plates 40% of Americans made resolutions for the year 2022.
2. Out of those who set New Year’s resolutions 20% had one goal in mind while 18% had multiple resolutions in mind.
3. Around 59% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 stated that they had set a New Year’s resolution
4. Only 19% of those above the age of 55 had set New year’s resolutions.
5. Among those who had children living at home the percentage of individuals with resolutions rose to 54% compared to33% among those without kids (sample size; 1,800).
6. A significant majority—86%—of people who made resolutions in the previous year carried them over into the new year as well.
7. Only 11% of individuals who didn’t have any resolutions this year committed themselves to setting one for this year.

4. In 2021, 17% of the British public said they would make a New Year’s resolution

Based on a survey conducted by YouGov it appears that the number of individuals in the United Kingdom who are committing to New Years resolutions is relatively low although there seems to be an increase.

• The study revealed that 17% of Brits stated their intention to make a New Year’s resolution in 2022 compared to 11% who made resolutions in the year.
• The data also indicated that individuals under the age of 25 were more inclined towards making New Year’s resolutions compared to those over 55 with a percentage of 32% versus 10%.
• The age group between 18-24 demonstrated a tendency for making New year’s resolutions when compared to others with figures reaching 31% as opposed to 11%.

5. In 2023, fewer people said they would resolve than in 2022

According to a poll conducted by CBS News there has been a decrease in the number of Americans planning to make New Year’s resolutions for the upcoming year of 2023.

1. The survey reveals that in 2022 29% of respondents expressed their intention to set resolutions, which’s a significant decline compared to the figures of 43% in 2021 and 42% in 2020.
2. Interestingly it appears that 26% of individuals residing in the United States feel hesitant about making New Year’s resolutions due to the nature of the world we live in.

 

What Are the Most Frequently Made New Year’s Resolutions?

6. In 2022, around half of Americans will make New Year’s resolutions to get into shape

1. According to Statista around half of Americans (50%) have expressed a desire to improve their fitness levels by the year 2024.
2. 44% of individuals mentioned that their goal is to lose weight while an equal percentage expressed their intention to shed some pounds.
3. The top priorities for Americans were losing weight. Getting healthier alongside saving money (44%).
4. Around 39% of Americans mentioned that they aimed at adopting dietary habits.
5. Apart from health related goals, Americans also focused on areas such as improving financial savings (44%) and enhancing their diet (39%).

Around 21% of individuals expressed aspirations related to career advancements in the year.

1. 18% emphasized the importance of spending quality time with their families.

 

7. The epidemic influenced people’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2022

According to a research conducted by Ipsos and Urban Plates the outbreak had an influence on the resolutions people made.

1. In the survey 29% of participants mentioned that the pandemic served as a motivation for them to pay attention to their mental well being.
2. Similarly 28% stated that they focused more on consuming food as a result of the events
3. while 27% claimed that the epidemic encouraged them to prioritize their financial objectives.
4. Regarding health related goals, such as quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption or getting better sleep
5.  23% of respondents said that the H1N1 pandemic played a role in motivating them.
6.  On the contrary 27% stated that it had no impact on their aspirations.

 

8. 54% of US citizens intend to make minor modifications to their goals

1. 49% of the resolutions were focused on improving financial well being while other common goals included enhancing overall well being (46%) and boosting body confidence (43%).
2. Around 54% of Americans expressed their intention to make smaller adjustments, in their daily lives rather than going for drastic transformations.
3. 66% of the research participants stated that they were focusing on losing weight through gradual lifestyle modifications.

 

9. The primary aim of British people’s promises is to improve one’s health

1. According to a survey conducted by YouGov in 2022 the popular New Year’s resolution among people was to prioritize their health.
2. For three years Britons have been emphasizing the importance of improving their fitness levels and engaging in regular exercise with a significant percentage of 49%.
3. Additionally 41% expressed a desire to enhance their nutrition and dietary habits while 40% aimed to achieve short term weight loss goals.
4.  Interestingly women appeared inclined than men when it came to focusing on weight reduction with percentages of 44% and 34%, respectively.
5. Looking ahead into the future it was found that 39% of individuals expressed an aspiration to save money while 19% expressed an interest in pursuing new career opportunities.

10. In 2022, 75% of Americans intended to make long-term beneficial changes

1. 75% of the individuals surveyed in a One Poll stated that they had less concern about adhering to the typical New Year’s resolutions.
2. 71% expressed their intention to prioritize long term happiness in 2022.
3. 74% of the respondents shared their desire to bring about long term changes in their lifestyles next year with the aim of increasing their overall happiness.
4. (73%) did not consider making changes as one of their top priorities for 2022
5. 70% expressed this desire in both 2021 and 2020.
6. 7% of the respondents believed they had already made the most substantial improvements to their health and well being w
7. while roughly a quarter indicated plans to implement major modifications in 2022 that would positively impact their overall health and mood.

11. Women are more likely to make resolutions to live healthier

According to a survey conducted by YouGov it was found that approximately 25% of the respondents in the United States who were planning to make New Year’s resolutions for 2022 expressed their intention to prioritize their health.

1. Interestingly both men and women showed enthusiasm when it came to focusing on weight reduction.
2. women (28%) than men (18%) expressed their desire to adopt a lifestyle overall.
3. When asked about their confidence in achieving these goals over 80% of the Americans surveyed stated that they were positive about staying committed.
4. 57% of the participants believed that their lives would improve in 2022 compared to their current situation.

 

Read more: writing down goals statistics

What Is the Status of Our Annual New Year’s Resolutions?

1. Only 9-12% of Americans keep their resolutions

A recent study conducted by OPTAVIA and published by Medifast Inc revealed that

1. 10% of American adults actually manage to keep their New Year’s resolutions for the year 2021.
2. Shockingly 47% of people end up breaking their promises within the first month of the new year.
3. The research findings indicate a decline in the number of individuals setting goals.
4.  In 2021 approximately half of the respondents reported making resolutions whereas in 2022 this number dropped to around 44%.
5. When asked about the reasons behind their failure to achieve their objectives half (48%) of the participants pointed towards a lack of motivation as the main culprit.
6.  30% attributed their setbacks to inadequate planning while another 22% mentioned a lack of support as a contributing factor.

 

2. According to a poll of over 2,000 people in the United Kingdom, 36.31% had kept their goals for 2021

1. According to a study by Statista 31% of people who made New Year’s resolutions for 2022 managed to stick with them for the entire year.
2. Interestingly men were more likely than women to proudly state that they had successfully kept all of their promises (38% compared to 26%).
3. Course it’s understandable that not everyone can achieve all their goals.
4. However 44% of the participants in the research admitted that while they couldn’t keep every single pledge they did manage to follow through on some of them.
5. Interestingly 19% of individuals confessed that they didn’t achieve any of their annual goals.
6. The breakdown showed that it was 15% among males and slightly higher at 22%, among females.

 

3. 75% of people keep a New Year’s Resolution for at least a week

Throughout the years Dr. John C Norcross, who holds the position of Chair of Psychology at Scranton has dedicated research to the topic of New Year’s resolutions and their impact on psychology.

1. According to Norcross findings 75% of individuals manage to uphold their New Years goals for a week based on various studies conducted between 1978 and 2020.
2.  However this proportion decreases to 71% after two weeks.
3. Further declines to just 64% after a month.
4. Interestingly only, about half of all individuals (around 46%) are able to maintain their New Year’s resolutions after a span of six months.

 

4. By February, 80% of New Year’s resolutions had failed

1. Based on a study released by US News it appears that 80% of New Year’s resolutions tend to fail even before February rolls in.
2. The data suggests that there could be factors contributing to our inability to stick to our New Year’s goals, such as a lack of motivation and self discipline.
3. To improve our chances of success the US News Report team recommends strategies like increasing our awareness of obstacles and starting with achievable objectives as supported by statistical findings.

 

5. Only 9 % of Americans can keep their objectives for a year

According to a survey conducted by Ipsos and Urban Plates approximately

1. 55% of people who make New Year’s resolutions do not manage to keep them for the entire year.
2. 11% of the individuals surveyed admitted that their resolutions lasted more than a month.
3. When the survey was conducted it was found that 45% of the respondents were still actively working on their goals or had already achieved them.
4. Notably those who fell into this category were predominantly adults, with 61% being over the age of 55.
5. The commonly cited reason for giving up on resolutions was a lack of motivation accounting for about 35% of responses.
6. Additionally some individuals claimed that being too busy (19%) or changing their minds about what they wanted to achieve (18%) played a role in abandoning their resolutions.

 

6. January 19th is when you’re most likely to abandon a goal

According to research conducted by the Strava fitness app, a study of 98.3 million users revealed that January 19th is commonly known as “Quitters day.”

This is the date when people are most likely to abandon their resolutions entirely as identified by Strava in their marketing efforts.

7. Only 35% of those polled believe they will achieve their objectives

According to a survey conducted among 2000 Americans

1. a quarter of the respondents (25%) expressed confidence in achieving their goals.
2. 4% stated that they believed they wouldn’t be successful in accomplishing any of their objectives.
3. Interestingly February 4th emerged as the day commonly associated with feelings of disappointment and unmet expectations, among those who didn’t expect to achieve their goals.
4. While a significant portion (42%) of the participants reported struggling to let go of enjoyable activities in pursuit of their objectives an equal percentage felt that they had set overly ambitious goals.
5. 38% mentioned lacking a support system to motivate them while 37% admitted to setting too many objectives.

 

8. Following the epidemic, Americans were more likely to keep New Year’s Resolutions.

In the midst of the epidemic a Fidelity poll revealed that 84% of individuals learned to release their worries about things beyond their control and focused more on achieving personal goals.

The percentage of people who successfully stuck to their New Year’s resolutions in 2021 due to this shift in mindset was 71% compared to 58%, in the year.

9. Avoidance-oriented objectives are less successful than approach-oriented goals

A comprehensive study conducted to compare the effectiveness of New Year’s Resolutions, with strategies revealed that individuals who set goals focused on achievement were more likely to succeed in reaching their desired outcomes.

Then trying to avoid something approach oriented goals involve actively working towards a specific objective. For instance of attempting to steer clear of sugar one might aim to reduce their weight by five pounds.

The University of British Columbia conducted research indicating that among those who adopted approach oriented objectives an impressive 84.9% successfully met their goals and maintained their desired outcomes throughout the year.

47.1% achieved similar results among individuals who pursued avoidant goals.

Faq

Who are the new year’s resolution makers?

The study revealed that a majority of individuals setting resolutions are women with 60% of women compared to slightly over 30% of men. Additionally people, in their twenties and thirties exhibit a tendency to make resolutions when compared to other age groups.

What sorts of things do people resolve to do?

The New Year’s resolutions often revolve around personal development with a lot of individuals committing to exercising regularly, adopting healthier eating habits and shedding some pounds. Another common resolution is to quit smoking, save money and prioritize quality time with loved ones.

Why do so many people fail to stick to their resolutions?

There could be reasons why individuals struggle to stick to their New Years resolutions. One possibility is that they often take on more than they can handle making commitments without a realistic plan in place. For instance if someone sets a goal of losing 50 pounds within a year without outlining a strategy for achieving it they may end up feeling disappointed and discouraged.

Another factor contributing to the failure of resolutions is attempting many changes simultaneously. If someone tries to quit smoking save money and allocate time, for family and friends all at once it can become overwhelming to give each aspect the necessary attention and focus.

To increase the likelihood of success it might be more effective to concentrate on one goal at a time of spreading efforts too thin across multiple objectives.

Lastly some individuals struggle with maintaining willpower over a period. While motivation tends to be high it can wane over time. Those who find it challenging to adhere to their resolutions may need to explore approaches that work better for them.

 

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the new year’s resolutions statistics 2023 – 2024.

So, the odds for success are against you.

The good news though, according to new years resolutions stats, if you make it through February without procrastination, your chances of seeing the year out are considerably better than most people.

Keep going, even if it’s difficult.

And if you need assistance, we’re here for you!

We’ll be there for you every step of the way.

It’s been great digging into the data about New Years Resolutions statistics with all of you, and we hope that you’ve discovered some fascinating statistics that have provoked thought.

Hopefully, as the new year approaches and you make your New Year’s resolutions, these figures will stay in mind.

You may also create your own new years resolutions stats with this information: be there for someone having difficulty keeping their pledge! OR you might make it your objective to assist them in achieving their objectives.

Remember, you may inspire someone else by talking about how you achieve your objectives. The struggle is real, and talking about it takes some stings out of it!

So, go right ahead and make this the most terrific year yet! And improve the overall score on new years resolutions stats.

New year’s resolutions stats for this article were gathered from the following sources:

• Statista – Share of Americans who stuck to their New years resolutions
• YouGov America
• CBS Poll
• Ipsos
• YouGov
• PubMed
• YouGov
• PLoS One
• Fidelity