India low on feeling loved, high on romance and sex: Ipsos love-life index

New Delhi: As Valentine’s Day chatter ramps up, a new Ipsos global survey has delivered an awkward headline for India: the country ranks last on partner satisfaction and is among the bottom three overall on the Love Life Satisfaction Index 2026.

Ipsos said the index is built on three things. First is how satisfied people are with the love in their life, the second is their sex life, and third their relationship with a spouse/partner. 

In the 29-market study, Thailand tops the chart, while Japan, South Korea and India sit at the bottom.

Ipsos India CEO Suresh Ramalingam said India’s ranking is a “striking contrast” to the country’s cultural associations with romance and intimacy, often symbolised by the Kamasutra. 

But he argued that lived realities matter more than cultural imagery when people answer questions about relationships.

He flagged the usual suspects: multi-generational responsibilities, shifting expectations inside marriages, and the constant pressure of juggling work and home. 

At the same time, he underlined that a low rank doesn’t mean Indians are universally miserable. “Two in three Indians report being satisfied with their love life,” he said, pointing out that rankings are relative.

That “relative” part is exactly where the India story gets interesting.

Ipsos said 67% of Indians describe their relationship with their spouse/partner as loving. But that’s on paper. India still ranks lowest among the 29 markets on this metric, meaning other countries report even higher levels of partner satisfaction.

The slide shows up again in emotional reassurance. India is among the bottom three on the measure of feeling loved, a signal that many respondents don’t feel emotionally affirmed, even if the relationship exists and even if it is described positively.

Wait, here comes the plot twist.

On satisfaction with romantic and sex lives, Ipsos said India ranks 8th globally, placing it in the upper tier alongside markets such as Mexico, Spain, Malaysia, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.

So, Indians are not reporting a dead love life. They’re reporting a messier emotional equation. 

The romance/sex side scores relatively well. 

The “do I feel valued, loved, and emotionally met?” side scores poorly. Or, to say it in the simplest way, people can be okay in bed and still feel unhappy in the relationship.

Ipsos also pointed to another factor that quietly shapes relationship satisfaction: money.

Across the 29 markets, respondents in higher-income households were more likely to feel loved and more likely to be satisfied with both love and sex lives. 

Ipsos said 82% of high-income respondents were satisfied with the love in their life, compared with 72% of low-income respondents. 

For romance/sex life satisfaction, 68% of high-income respondents were satisfied versus 52% of low-income respondents.

Ipsos said the survey covered 23,268 adults across 29 markets. In India, the sample was about 2,200, including around 1,800 face-to-face interviews and 400 online interviews.