Falling in love is a beautiful thing, and these love statistics are here to prove it. Love doesn’t care about gender, age, ethnicity, or anything in-between. Wherever you are in the world, it will find you sooner or later and show you the world in a different light.
In times like this, we need love more than ever, and these statistics are here to help you understand this deep emotion better.
Whether you’re looking for love or just want to make sure that the rest of the world feels as happy as you do, the statistics below can offer both joy and comfort.
Top Ten Key Love Statistics for 2022:
- Being in love can relieve pain.
- Love statistics show that 88% of Americans get married for love, making it the number one reason to get married.
- 61% of men and women say they want to get married.
- Roughly 19% of teens are in a romantic relationship.
- Love facts reveal that laughter is associated with the positive sides of love that partners share.
- Men are 5% more certain that they are in love (and think of leaving their partners less).
- Falling in love is slower for women.
- Love statistics show that being in a relationship can have a positive effect on your personality.
- Long-distance relationships have more satisfaction and trust.
- When it comes to marrying your first love, statistics show that around 97% of people who do it think they will be together until they die.
General Facts About Love to Give You Butterflies
Last year brought a lot of stress and bad news into our lives, so let’s start this article on a positive note. Here are some numbers and facts about love to warm your heart instantly.
1. According to various psychological facts about love, hugging your partner can reduce stress instantly.
(Pub Med)
Studies on animals have shown that ventral stroking increases the levels of oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) and decreases blood pressure. Studies on humans have shown similar results. For example, 59 women that haven’t gone through menopause showed higher levels of oxytocin and decreased blood pressure after hugging their partners.
2. Being in love can relieve pain.
(Stanford Medicine)
One study found that feeling passionate love can be an effective pain reliever. The effects that being in love has on pain are similar to those that painkillers have. In fact, these effects have been noted as being very intense. Facts about love equate the effects as being similar to those of cocaine.
3. Love statistics show that being in a relationship can have a positive effect on your personality.
(Wiley Online Library)
Being in a healthy relationship can have some astounding effects on personality development. For example, it was found that neuroticism decreases in both partners across nine months of a happy relationship.
4. Long-distance relationships have more satisfaction and trust.
(Wiley Online Library)
Even though most people believe long-distance relationships are doomed from the beginning, a study has found that these relationships actually come with either equal or more trust and satisfaction than geographically close relationships.
5. Love facts reveal that laughter is associated with the positive sides of love that partners share.
(Wiley Online Library)
In a study where couples were being recorded while recounting the way they met and their relationship, in general, it was found that partners laugh together every time they talk about something pleasant.
The shared laughter was associated with good relationship quality, social support, and closeness.
6. Falling in love is slower for women.
(The Journal of Social Psychology)
Even though most respondents said they believed women were more likely to fall in love and say “I love you” first in a relationship, love facts about guys show that it is men who report falling in love faster than women.
7. Scientifically true facts about love reveal that love goes through different phases.
(The Harvard Gazette)
At first, love increases dopamine levels while simultaneously decreasing the levels of serotonin. This creates the crazy, stupid, and passionate love of infatuation. After the first year, though, serotonin levels start coming back to normal, turning this into a calmer and more mature version of love.
This happens because oxytocin levels rise — the hormone helps strengthen the bond between couples. It improves the immune system and helps happy couples live longer with fewer mental and physical health issues.
8. Statistics about falling in love show that love and lust light up the brain in different ways.
(The Journal of Sexual Medicine)
Even though it’s easy to confuse the two, love and lust actually show up as different patterns in your brain. They affect some of the same areas of the brain, like reward expectation, social cognition, and somatosensory integration.
It’s one of the (less?) fun facts about love that shows love basically grows out of desire. It simply builds upon the pleasure and sensorimotor experiences we associate with desire. On top of that, love adds the habit formation and feature detection regions to the existing ones affected by desire.
American Love Statistics and Facts
Same as anywhere else in the world. Or is it? Let’s check how Americans live and love.
9. Love statistics show that 88% of Americans get married for love, making it the number one reason to get married.
(Pew Research Center)
The second biggest reason to get married is for making a lifelong commitment, with 81% of Americans listing this reason. In third place, we have companionship with 76%.
Only 23% said they would get married because of legal rights and benefits, and these marriage statistics show us the romantic side of the US.
10. 4% of adults over 50 cohabit with their partner without being married.
(Pew Research Center)
Even though this is a small percentage, it grew by 75% since 2007. Around 14% of American adults aged between 25 and 34 cohabit with their partner, making them also the group that is most likely to cohabitate.
Interesting facts about love show that the percentage of young adults aged 18 to 24 and adults aged 35 to 49 cohabiting is roughly the same, 9% and 8% respectively.
11. Marriage statistics show that 54 % of women are likely to say no to getting remarried.
(Pew Research Center)
In addition to this, 15% answered yes, while 27% simply weren’t sure. In comparison, only 30% of men answered no to the same question.
Facts about love and relationships further show that 36% said they weren’t sure, and almost double the percentage of women, 29%, said yes.
12. Various stats about love reveal that Americans have become more supportive of same-sex marriage over the years.
(Pew Research Center)
For the decade between 2007 and 2017, the support for same-sex marriage has grown in America, even among skeptical groups like baby boomers. The number of people who support same-sex marriage in 2007 was 37%, and the number in 2017 was 62%, with these stats about love marking a significant rise.
13. Roughly half of the millennials and Gen Z-ers say interracial marriage and same-sex marriage are good for society.
(Pew Research Center 6)
Statistics about love and relationships show some positive trends through the ages. Younger generations are encouraging diversity, with 48% of Gen Z-ers and 47% of millennials saying that same-sex marriage is a good thing for society.
Moreover, 53% of both generations said the same thing about interracial marriage. In comparison, only 27% and 30% of baby boomers believe same-sex and interracial marriages are good.
Love and Marriage — Statistics About Love
Recently married couples will gladly tell you that there is no difference after you say ‘yes’ if love is reals. And while this could be the case, the numbers from marriage statistics show that some things do are pretty different when it comes to the perception of marriages and relationships.
14. People under 50 are 12% less likely to get a vascular disease if they’re married.
(American College of Cardiology)
These rather random facts about love show a decreasing trend with age (but a positive trend nonetheless). For the age group just after 50-51 to 60 – married people are 7% less likely to get a vascular disease. This number drops to 4% for those married and over 61.
15. 61% of men and women say they want to get married.
(Pew Research Center)
The majority of people who have never been married before consider this to be their life goal. Statistics about love and marriage further show that 27% of people aren’t sure if they want marriage to be on their bucket list, while only 12% said they didn’t want to get married.
The marriage statistics say that those who were married before aren’t as enthusiastic about getting married again, with only 29% saying they’d remarry.
16. Roughly 19% of teens are in a romantic relationship.
(Pew Research Center)
Around 14% of teens are in a relationship that they consider to be serious – i.e. being with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Further facts about teenage love and relationships show that another 5% are in relationships that they consider romantic.
However, they do not consider these relationships serious. Furthermore, around 16% of teens are not dating (but have dated in the past).
17. Of the teenagers polled, 64% claim they have never been in a romantic relationship.
(Pew Research Center)
The remaining 35% (1% refused to provide their relationship status) stated that they are currently involved with a romantic partner, that they have had a romantic partner, or that they have hooked up with someone.
18. Teenage love statistics show that most teens are not sexually active.
(Pew Research Center)
In fact, 30% of teen daters (i.e. 30% of the 35% that has or had dated in some way or another) had sex. The remainder claims they did not have sex, while 2% of teen daters did not indicate one way or another.
19. When it comes to marrying your first love, statistics show that around 97% of people who do it think they will be together until they die.
(YouGov)
Almost 100% of first-love marriages really believe in “until death do us part.” Numbers show us they are more likely to believe this than people who did not marry their first love (88%).
Furthermore, only 19% of first-love marriage partners thought about leaving their partner, compared to 34% of people who are not in a first-love marriage.
20. Men are 5% more certain that they are in love (and think of leaving their partners less).
(YouGov)
Around 62% of men are sure they are in love with their partner, compared to 57% of women. Love facts also show that 38% of women have thought about leaving their partners, while 29% of men thought of doing the same.
FAQ
What percentage of relationships are happy?
(Cision) (Cision)
According to a study from 2019, 83% of couples in America reported being happy in their relationship. In comparison, only 64% of Americans said they were happy in their relationship in 2018. This is quite a positive increase for only one year.
Conclusion
These love statistics may be surprising to some but completely expected to others. How you view love may affect your perspective on these statistics, but we can all agree it’s nice to see the world happy. Marriage and romantic relationships are some of the most special bonds we can ever hope to form, and we should always cherish them.
Sources:
- American College of Cardiology
- Cision
- Cision
- Pew Research Center
- Pew Research Center
- Pew Research Center
- Pew Research Center
- Pew Research Center
- Pew Research Center
- Pew Research Center
- Pew Research Center
- Pub Med
- Stanford Medicine
- The Harvard Gazette
- The Journal of Sexual Medicine
- The Journal of Social Psychology
- Wiley Online Library
- Wiley Online Library
- Wiley Online Library
- YouGov
