Global: Attitudes towards plastic surgery

In the media, plastic surgery is often an object of derision: a byword for vanity and superficiality, with headlines and entire TV shows dedicated to procedures gone wrong.

And yet, for many people, the idea of ironing out facial wrinkles or modifying other physical features still has clear appeal. Data from YouGov Profiles shows that, in seven global markets, a substantial proportion of the public would contemplate having this kind of procedure.

Over a quarter of Americans (28%) and Saudi Arabians (27%) would consider undergoing plastic surgery, next to a fifth of Britons (22%), Spanish consumers (22%), and Australians (20%). Danish (16%) and Singaporean (15%) respondents were least likely to think about undergoing these procedures but still make up significant minorities.

Along gender lines, women are more interested in plastic surgery than men in all markets – but the nature of the gap varies. It is widest in Britain and Spain where three in ten women would consider a cosmetic procedure and half as many men say the same (GB: 29% vs. 15%; Spain: 28% vs. 15%). In Denmark, female respondents are also twice as likely to consider it (21% vs 11%). In Singapore, the gap is small enough to be within the margin of error: 16% of women and 14% of men would think about getting this kind of surgery.

In both America and Saudi Arabia, a third of female respondents (33%) would consider a cosmetic operation next to a quarter of men (US: 24%; Saudi Arabia: 23%).