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PERHAPS THE BEATLES were wrong all along and money actually can buy you love.
The 2025 Love Life Satisfaction Survey conducted by Ipsos across 30 countries — including Ireland — finds that higher earners are more likely to say they feel loved and are also more satisfied with their romantic/sex lives.
When asked how satisfied they are with various aspects of their lives, 83% of higher earners globally report they are satisfied with the extent to which they feel loved, and 67% feel satisfied with their romantic/sex life. The figures for low earners were much lower at 69% and 51% respectively.
For the day that’s in it, the survey paints a positive picture of how most of us feel about our love life. Strong majorities globally – and in Ireland too – feel satisfied not just with their love life, but also with their romantic/sex life, and similarly with their relationship with their partner/spouse.
Using the data across these three dimensions of love, we created a Love Life Satisfaction Index bringing together how people feel about love, romance and relationships in a single indicator. It combines how satisfied people are with the love in their life, their sex lives and their relationship with their partner.
It provides us a fascinating glimpse into the love lives of different nationalities. Ireland ranks 14th out of the 30 countries. Mid-table respectability alongside Britain, New Zealand and the US.
Countries in Latin America typically rank highest in the index with Colombia, Mexico and Chile all featuring in the top few places. Brazil is a bit of an outlier as the only country in that region featuring in the bottom half of the table.
The Netherlands and Spain are the only European countries to make it into the top 10, with six of the bottom 10 places accounted for by European nations.
Spare a thought this Valentine’s Day for those in Japan and South Korea languishing in the bottom two spots in the index. Almost two out of every five people in these countries say they are not satisfied with the extent to which they feel loved. Japan is also the only country where there are more people not satisfied with their romantic/sex life than there are satisfied people.
We can see that Irish men are more satisfied than the women of Ireland. A strong majority of the two genders are satisfied with their romantic/sex lives, but the 62% satisfaction reported by men is 6 points higher than what women are telling us. A similar satisfaction gap exists in terms of partner/spouse relationships, with 87% of men satisfied in this regard compared with 82% of women. Anyone thinking of dashing out today to buy a last-minute (late?) Valentine’s present for a woman would be wise to bear this in mind.
Turning back to the Beatles, the survey also answers some of the questions about love and ageing that they posed in “When I’m 64”.
It finds that Baby Boomers in Ireland – which includes those 64-year-olds – are most likely to feel loved. With 87% of that generation feeling loved, it’s a sizeable 13 points higher than it is for Gen Z (those aged under 30).
Boomers aren’t just feeling the love, they’re also as satisfied at the youngest generation with their romantic/sex lives and relationships with their partners too. Who could ask for more, when I’m 64?
Marriage too doesn’t dampen the flames of love. Those who are married are significantly more satisfied than those who have not tied the knot. This is the case across all 3 aspects of this survey — feeling loved, romantic/sex life and relationship.
Looking broadly at the data, we see the linkages between these different aspects of love. Happiness with romantic/sex life and partner are correlated. People in countries that are more satisfied with their relationship with their partner are more likely to be happy with their romantic/sex life.
Some intriguing outliers, though. In Brazil, South Korea and India, people are less satisfied with their partner compared to their level of satisfaction with their romantic/sex life overall.
Tempting perhaps to focus on all these differences, but overall there is plenty to be encouraged by. When comparing the results to the same survey last year, we can see that feelings of love are on the rise across most countries.
This is the case in Ireland too, where most of us are feeling pretty positive about our love life across all the ways in which it may express itself.
To borrow the closing words of Hugh Grant in that movie seeking to explain all about love: If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.
Kieran O’Leary is a director of research and polling company Ipsos B&A.
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