Is Cursive Dying Out? 48 Handwriting Statistics (2026)

Fewer people write by hand every year, and the joined-up style that schools once drilled is fading fastest among the young. Yet most adults still write shopping lists and birthday cards by hand, and nearly everyone still needs a signature.

This page collects the key numbers on cursive and handwriting in the UK, with comparisons from the US and what research says about writing by hand. Every figure is linked to a source listed at the foot of the page.

Who still writes joined-up?

In Britain, cursive is usually called joined-up handwriting. Most adults still use it, but the gap between generations is wide.

1. 63% of Britons write joined-up

In a 2025 YouGov survey, 63% of Britons said they have joined-up handwriting, while 21% use block letters and 7% write purely in block capitals.¹

2. 80% of over-65s, but only 46% of 18 to 24 year olds

Eight in ten people aged 65 and over write in cursive or joined-up handwriting, compared with 55% of 25 to 49 year olds and 46% of 18 to 24 year olds.²

3. 35% of young adults write in separate letters

Among 18 to 24 year olds, 35% write in block letters that are not joined up, compared with 11% of those aged 65 and over.³

4. Based on 2,095 adults

The YouGov handwriting survey questioned 2,095 adults in Great Britain on 11 and 12 May 2025.⁴

5. 65% said they wrote cursive in 2023

In an earlier YouGov question in September 2023, 65% of Britons said they write in a cursive or joined-up style, against 28% in block or print letters.⁵

How neat is Britain's handwriting?

6. 58% think their handwriting is neat

58% of Britons rate their own handwriting as very or fairly neat, but only 10% call it very neat.⁶

7. 53% of men say their writing is not neat

42% of Britons say their handwriting is not very neat or not neat at all. Among men the figure is 53%, against 29% of women.⁷

How often Britons write by hand

8. 37% write something by hand every day

In 2022, 37% of Britons said they write something by hand every day, and another 34% a few times a week.⁸

9. 3% write by hand less than once a year

In the same survey, 3% of Britons said they write by hand less than once a year.⁹

10. Lists are the last stronghold of handwriting

52% of Britons write short lists by hand at least a few times a week, and 75% at least a few times a month.¹⁰

11. Only 7% regularly write letters by hand

Just 17% of Britons update a journal or diary by hand at least a few times a month, and only 7% write letters by hand that often.¹¹

12. 43% never write a letter by hand

67% of Britons never keep a diary or journal by hand, and 43% never write a letter by hand.¹²

13. 11% never fill in a form by hand

11% of Britons never fill in forms by hand. Among 18 to 24 year olds, the share is 24%.¹³

14. Only 6% never write in a card

Birthday and greetings cards keep handwriting alive: only 6% of Britons never write in one by hand, and 61% do so a few times a year.¹⁴

15. Only 9% wrote a personal letter in the last month

In April 2025, only 9% of Britons had written a personal letter by hand in the past month, and 5% said they had never written one.¹⁵

16. For 26%, the last letter was over ten years ago

26% of Britons last wrote a personal letter by hand more than ten years ago.¹⁶

Letters and cards

17. UK letter volumes peaked at 20 billion

The number of letters sent in the UK peaked in 2004 to 2005 at 20 billion items.¹⁷

18. Down to 8 billion letters

Letter volumes had more than halved to around 8 billion items by 2021 to 2022.¹⁸

19. Parcels doubled to 3.8 billion

Over the same period, parcel volumes rose from 1.9 billion in 2014 to 2015 to 3.8 billion in 2021 to 2022.¹⁹

20. A £1.5 billion greeting card market

Single greeting cards sold in the UK were worth more than £1.506 billion in 2017.²⁰

21. 33 cards per person each year

According to the Greeting Card Association, Britons buy more cards per person than any other nation, 33 each a year.²¹

Handwriting in schools

Unlike some US states, England never dropped joined-up writing from the curriculum. The national curriculum sets out when children should learn to join their letters.

22. Joining starts in Year 2

In Year 2, pupils should start using the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters and learn which letters are best left unjoined.²²

23. Joined handwriting in Years 3 and 4

In Years 3 and 4, pupils should use the diagonal and horizontal strokes needed to join letters.²³

24. Speed matters by the end of primary school

In Years 5 and 6, pupils should write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed, choosing for themselves whether or not to join specific letters.²⁴

25. Writing is the weakest early learning goal

Of the 17 early learning goals assessed at the end of Reception in England in 2024 to 2025, writing had the lowest share of children at the expected level, while gross motor skills had the highest.²⁵

26. 62% of 11 year olds meet the standard

In 2025, 62% of pupils at the end of primary school met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, up from 61% in 2024.²⁶

27. Still below 2019

Before the pandemic, in 2019, the combined figure was 65%.²⁷

Children who struggle to write

28. The skills for forming letters arrive at about 4 years 7 months

The visual and motor skills needed to form letters develop at around 4 years and 7 months of age, while children in the UK can start school at 4.²⁸

29. 10% to 30% of children have handwriting difficulties

Handwriting difficulties are estimated to affect between 10% and 30% of children.²⁹

30. Estimates range from 6% to 33%

Published estimates for children aged 6 to 12 range from 6% to 33%, depending on how difficulties are measured.³⁰

31. 32% of Reception children struggle to hold a pencil

In a 2024 survey of 1,034 primary school staff, teachers said 32% of children starting Reception struggle to hold a pencil or crayon.³¹

32. 77% of teachers see worse fine motor skills

In a YouGov poll of primary teachers, 77% said they had noticed a deterioration in pupils' ability to perform precise movements since 2020.³²

33. Dyspraxia shows in drawing and writing

The NHS says children with dyspraxia are usually behind in drawing and writing, and that the condition is usually diagnosed at age 5 or older.³³

Cursive in the United States

Many US schools dropped cursive in the 2000s and 2010s. Several states have since brought it back.

34. California made cursive compulsory again in 2023

California's AB 446, approved in October 2023, requires handwriting instruction in grades 1 to 6 to include cursive or joined italics.³⁴

35. Only 15% wrote the SAT essay in cursive

When a handwritten essay was added to the SAT in 2006, just 15% of almost 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive.³⁵

36. 10 minutes of handwriting a day

At the time, handwriting instruction in US primary schools was frequently 10 minutes a day or less.³⁶

37. 80,000 files waiting for cursive readers

The US National Park Service holds more than 80,000 Revolutionary War pension files and two million documents, and looks for volunteers who can read cursive to transcribe them.³⁷

38. The Palmer Method dates from the 1880s

The Palmer Method, the cursive style taught to generations of Americans, was developed by Austin Norman Palmer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the 1880s.³⁸

Handwriting, the brain and learning

39. Handwriting lights up more of the brain

In an EEG study of university students, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate when writing by hand than when typing on a keyboard.³⁹

40. Measured in 36 students

The study recorded brain activity in 36 university students using high-density EEG.⁴⁰

41. Children showed the same pattern

An earlier study compared 12 young adults and 12 children aged 12 as they wrote in cursive, typed and drew.⁴¹

42. 67 students in the famous laptop study

The best-known study on note-taking by hand began with 67 students at Princeton University.⁴²

43. Laptop notes copied the lecture more

Laptop notes had an average of 14.6% word-for-word overlap with the lecture, against 8.8% for handwritten notes.⁴³

44. Handwriters did better on conceptual questions

Across three studies, students who took notes on laptops performed worse on conceptual questions than those who took notes by hand.⁴⁴

45. Paper was 25% faster

In a University of Tokyo study, volunteers who used paper completed a note-taking task about 25% faster than those using tablets or smartphones.⁴⁵

46. 42 adults learned new letters three ways

A Johns Hopkins study taught 42 adults new letters by writing them, typing them or only looking at them, and compared how well each group learned.⁴⁶

What it means for signatures

Even people who never write joined-up still sign their name. But the number of times we sign by hand is falling too.

47. Electronic signatures are used "every day"

The Law Commission states that electronic signatures are validly used instead of handwritten signatures in transactions every day.⁴⁷

48. 80% of card payments needed no signature

When Mastercard dropped the signature requirement in North America, more than 80% of its in-store transactions there already needed no signature.⁴⁸

A generation that rarely writes joined-up often has no practised signature either. If yours has drifted into a quick scribble, you can try styles in our free signature generator or have a signature designed for you with our signature design service, complete with a practice sheet.

Frequently asked questions

Is cursive dying out in the UK?

It is declining with each generation. In a 2025 YouGov survey, 80% of over-65s said they write joined-up, compared with 46% of 18 to 24 year olds. Overall 63% of Britons still write in joined-up style.

Do UK schools still teach joined-up handwriting?

Yes. The national curriculum in England expects pupils to start joining letters in Year 2 and to use joined handwriting in Years 3 and 4.

Is handwriting better for learning than typing?

Several studies suggest so. EEG research found more elaborate brain connectivity when writing by hand, and students who took notes by hand did better on conceptual questions than those who typed.

Do you need cursive to sign your name?

No. A signature can be printed, joined-up or a stylised mark. What matters legally is that it is your mark and that you make it consistently.

Sources

1. 1YouGov, What is the state of Britain's handwriting? (yougov.com)
2. 2YouGov, What is the state of Britain's handwriting? (yougov.com)
3. 3YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
4. 4YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
5. 5YouGov, daily question on handwriting style (2023) (yougov.com)
6. 6YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
7. 7YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
8. 8YouGov, daily question on writing by hand (2022) (yougov.com)
9. 9YouGov, daily question on writing by hand (2022) (yougov.com)
10. 10YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
11. 11YouGov, What is the state of Britain's handwriting? (yougov.com)
12. 12YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
13. 13YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
14. 14YouGov, handwriting survey data tables (May 2025) (yougov.net)
15. 15YouGov, daily question on handwritten letters (2025) (yougov.com)
16. 16YouGov, daily question on handwritten letters (2025) (yougov.com)
17. 17Consumer Scotland, The universal postal service (consumer.scot)
18. 18Consumer Scotland, The universal postal service (consumer.scot)
19. 19Consumer Scotland, The universal postal service (consumer.scot)
20. 20Greeting Card Association, market facts and figures (gca.cards)
21. 21Greeting Card Association, market facts and figures (gca.cards)
22. 22Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study (gov.uk)
23. 23Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study (gov.uk)
24. 24Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study (gov.uk)
25. 25Department for Education, Early years foundation stage profile results 2024 to 2025 (service.gov.uk)
26. 26Department for Education, Key stage 2 attainment 2024 to 2025 (service.gov.uk)
27. 27Department for Education, Key stage 2 attainment 2024 to 2025 (service.gov.uk)
28. 28British Journal of Occupational Therapy (nih.gov)
29. 29British Journal of Occupational Therapy (nih.gov)
30. 30PLOS ONE, handwriting difficulties in children (nih.gov)
31. 31Kindred Squared, School Readiness Survey 2025 (kindredsquared.org.uk)
32. 32Tes, primary teachers report declining fine motor skills (tes.com)
33. 33NHS, Developmental co-ordination disorder (dyspraxia) (nhs.uk)
34. 34California Legislature, AB 446 (ca.gov)
35. 35The Washington Post via NBC News (nbcnews.com)
36. 36The Washington Post via NBC News (nbcnews.com)
37. 37US National Park Service, Revolutionary War pension file project (nps.gov)
38. 38Hagley Museum and Library, the Palmer Method (hagley.org)
39. 39Van der Weel and Van der Meer, Frontiers in Psychology (frontiersin.org)
40. 40Van der Weel and Van der Meer, Frontiers in Psychology (frontiersin.org)
41. 41Askvik, Van der Weel and Van der Meer, Frontiers in Psychology (frontiersin.org)
42. 42Mueller and Oppenheimer, Psychological Science (psychologyrocks.org)
43. 43Mueller and Oppenheimer, Psychological Science (psychologyrocks.org)
44. 44Mueller and Oppenheimer, Psychological Science (psychologyrocks.org)
45. 45University of Tokyo, press release (u-tokyo.ac.jp)
46. 46Johns Hopkins University, The effects of handwriting experience on literacy learning (johnshopkins.edu)
47. 47Law Commission, Electronic execution of documents (lawcom.gov.uk)
48. 48Mastercard, no more signing on the dotted line (mastercard.com)