While Valentine's Day started as a Christian feast day in 496 and became a symbol of courtly love in the 14th century, its modern-day interpretation has more to do with sales numbers for chocolate boxes and flowers than with true affection. Still, it offers more than enough reason to look at relationship statuses around the world.
As our chart with data from our Statista Global Consumer Survey shows, China leads the world in terms of people being either in a relationship or married. 77 percent of respondents claimed they were partnered up, with the numbers skewing heavily towards married couples. Coming in second is Poland with 70 percent of respondents saying they're with someone, and the third place is shared by Russia and Spain with 69 percent of people being partnered. While the UK shows a partnership percentage of over 60 percent, in the United States being in a relationship or marriage is seemingly less likely, with only 56 percent of respondents ticking either of the two boxes and 33 percent claiming they were single.
For 2022, the National Retail Federation expects U.S. Americans to spend roughly $24 billion on Valentine's Day gifts, an increase of roughly $2 billion compared to 2021. According to the trade association's estimates, $6.2 billion will be spent on jewelry, $4.3 billion on a night out and $2.9 billion on clothing.
