More Lonely Abroad? Loneliness among Mid-Life and Older Indian Migrants in the UK Compared to Host and Origin Populations

Mengxing Joshi , University of St Andrews

Loneliness is an urgent global public health concern, yet comparative research examining how loneliness among immigrants relates to both host-country populations and non-migrants in countries of origin remains scarce. This study addresses a long-standing gap raised by Victor et al. (2012) by comparing the prevalence and predictors of loneliness among three groups: Indian migrants in the UK, White British adults, and Indians residing in India. Drawing on harmonised, nationally representative data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (Wave 9) and the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (Wave 1), the analysis includes 87,194 individuals aged 45 and above. Findings reveal that Indian migrants in the UK report the highest loneliness (45%), significantly more than White British (32%) and Indian-residing adults (33%). These differences persist after controlling for key demographic, health, and social factors. Stratified models further show that predictors of loneliness differ across groups and are mostly not significant among Indian migrants. Despite relatively higher socioeconomic status, Indian migrants in the UK remain more vulnerable to loneliness. While this study cannot directly examine underlying mechanisms, it raises questions about whether migration-related experiences, such structural exclusion, disrupted social embeddedness, cultural in-betweenness, or unmet expectations, may contribute to elevated loneliness in this group. This study points to the need for future research and policy approaches that are sensitive to the specific contexts of ageing in transnational and migrant lives.

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 Presented in Session P4. Migration, Migrants, and Mobility