Scottish Household Survey 2022 results published

The Chief Statistician has released the results of the 2022 Scottish Household Survey.

In 2022 most (95%) adults rated their neighbourhood as a good or very good place to live, and over half (57%) felt there were places to meet up and socialise. The proportion of adults experiencing feelings of loneliness in the last week increased from 21% in 2018 to 23% in 2022.

Half (50%) of households said they were managing well financially in 2022, a decrease since 2019 (56%).

Satisfaction with the three main public services (local health services, schools and public transport) decreased from 53% in 2019 to 40% in 2022. The largest drop was for satisfaction with local health services (from 80% in 2019 to 64% in 2022), although levels of satisfaction were lowest for public transport (58% in 2022).

In 2022, as in 2019, most (93%) families who used Scottish Government funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) were satisfied with it, and only 1% were dissatisfied.

Climate change was more likely to be perceived as an immediate and urgent problem in 2022 (74%) than in 2019 (68%). The largest increases were amongst those aged 25-34 (67% in 2019 to 78% in 2022) or aged 75+ (56% in 2019 to 65% in 2022).

More adults reported living within a five-minute walk of their nearest green or blue space in 2022 (70%) than in 2019 (66%). They were also more likely to visit the outdoors at least once a week in 2022 (70%) than in 2019 (56%).

More than eight in ten (82%) adults had taken part in physical activity in the previous four weeks, an increase from 2019 (80%). Taking part on more than 14 days in the previous 4 weeks also increased (from 51% in 2019 to 54% in 2022).

The proportion of adults participating in cultural activities was the same in 2019 and 2022 (75%), but there has been a decrease in adults attending cultural events or places of culture (from 81% in 2019 to 74% in 2022). Involvement in formal volunteering activities has also decreased (from 26% in 2019 to 22% in 2022).

Background

The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is an annual survey of the general population in Scotland, carried out since 1999. Respondents are interviewed face-to-face, in their homes.

The 2022 results are published as official statistics in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The 2020 and 2021 survey results were published as experimental statistics, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on survey work. Therefore, the most recent valid comparison year for the majority of the results is 2019. For some survey questions, asked every two years rather than annually, the most recent comparison year is 2018.

This report presents key national level findings from the SHS 2022 survey. It is accompanied by data tables giving both Scotland and local authority level results. Results for the Scottish Surveys Core Questions, Transport and Travel in Scotland and the Scottish House Condition Survey, are reported separately.