What’s new in 2026 for Life in the UK?

Now in its fourth year, Carnegie UK’s Life in the UK index is an annual report based on what people in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland tell us about their lives. It measures collective wellbeing across the UK, which we define as everyone having what they need to live well now and in the future. The index helps governments and decision makers across the UK focus on what really matters to people, and track whether we are living better or worse over time.

We’re always looking for ways to improve our work and this year you can look out for three things:

Regression analysis

Since Life in the UK launched in 2023, to understand how demographic factors are related to wellbeing, we have used a statistical approach called regression analysis. This helps us identify which characteristics are associated with wellbeing, while accounting for other demographic factors.

Previously, the regression analysis used for the Life in the UK index focused on a narrower range of demographic characteristics than we collect and publish. As a result, some factors with an important relationship to wellbeing were not included in the analysis. 

This year, we have expanded our analysis to include the full set of demographic information we collect, including education status, working status, religion, and sexual orientation. As a result, some findings may differ from previous years and should be interpreted in the context of this more comprehensive approach. Factors that previously appeared to have a strong relationship with wellbeing may appear less important once additional characteristics are considered, while others may emerge as significant drivers.

This change provides us with a richer picture of how wellbeing is experienced across the UK and better reflects the diversity of people’s lives.

Enhanced data visualisation

We are continuing our efforts to improve data visualisation by enhancing how people can access and engage with the Life in the UK findings. This year’s reports include trend graphs for every survey question, making it easier for readers to explore and compare the results over time. These visualisations are also available through a new interactive dashboard, allowing users to engage with the data in greater depth. These improvements make the evidence more accessible and easier to use, while also highlighting the importance of measuring wellbeing consistently over time to understand social progress and support better policy decisions.

Augmenting with qualitative research

One exciting development this year is that we have conducted qualitative research in addition to the quantitative research. The main quantitative Life in the UK index helps us understand how life is going for people across the UK, but the numerical data alone cannot tell us about the reasons for and individual experiences behind the numbers.

To start to understand some of the ‘why’ behind the index’s numbers, this year we commissioned an in-depth piece of qualitative work. This involved researchers speaking to people from across the UK in a series of depth interviews held with people in their own local areas, and alongside someone else they trusted.

While we know that everyone’s particular experiences will be unique, this research has identified some of the shared themes that have an impact on collective wellbeing, helping us to understand where to direct our attention and where policy might have the biggest impact.

We plan to publish the full report on this in winter 2026.

At Carnegie UK, we see ourselves as a learning organisation, taking time to learn from our work and being open about how it evolves. By sharing these methodological improvements, we hope to strengthen confidence in the Life in the UK index and ensure it continues to be a robust source of evidence for wellbeing-informed decision making.