Percentage of population with 5 or more close friends

What this measures

Dimension: Social support

This indicator represents the percentage of the population who report having 5 or more close friends. A close friend is not a relative, but someone whom a person feels at ease with, that he or she can talk to about personal matters, and who can be called upon for help.

Why this matters

People with a larger number of strong friendships are better able to cope with stress, are more resilient to illness and disease, and report greater satisfaction with life.

Indicator graph

Graph of trends in indicator. Details in data table following graph

Indicator data

Percentage with 5 or more close friends
Year	Percentage
1994	55.3
1995	55.3
1996	55.3
1997	54.7
1998	54.1
1999	53.6
2000	53.0
2001	52.4
2002	51.8
2003	51.2
2004	50.6
2005	50.1
2006	49.5
2007	48.9
2008	48.3
2009	49.0
2010	49.7
2011	50.4
2012	51.1
2013	51.8
2014	52.5