If you've searched "STI rates UK" recently, you've probably found two completely different stories. One says diagnoses are falling. Another says a specific infection is rising fast. Both are true, and neither tells you the whole picture on its own.
Here's what the UK's official data, published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), actually shows, and what it means for how you protect yourself.
The headline tension: down overall, up for some infections
UKHSA's annual STI data for England showed a peak of over 400,000 new diagnoses in 2023. Since then, overall diagnoses have fallen, with UKHSA data for 2025 showing roughly an 8% drop compared to the year before.
That's the "STIs are falling" headline. It's accurate. But it's an average across every infection UKHSA tracks, and averages hide movement in either direction underneath them.
Genital herpes is the clearest example. The BBC reported in June 2026, citing UKHSA figures, that genital herpes diagnoses in England reached nearly 29,000 in 2025, a 3% rise on the year before. That's happening at the same time as the overall figure is falling. Syphilis diagnoses in women have also been climbing over the same period, according to the same UKHSA dataset.
So when you read "STI rates are rising" or "STI rates are falling," the honest answer is: it depends which infection, and which year, you're looking at. Both directions are currently true at once.
Why the numbers look like they contradict each other
Three things explain most of the apparent contradiction:
Different years get compared. A report published in mid-2026 might be describing 2025 data, 2024 data, or a multi-year trend, and headlines don't always make that clear. A "record high" and a "recent fall" can both be correct if they're describing different points in the same longer curve.
Different infections move differently. Chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital herpes and syphilis don't rise and fall in lockstep. They have different transmission patterns, different testing rates, and different levels of public awareness. A single combined "STI diagnoses" figure smooths all of that into one number, which is useful for a high-level trend but hides what's actually changing.
England-only data gets reported as UK-wide. Most of the headline UKHSA figures cover England specifically, since health data is collected separately across the UK's four nations. A figure that's accurate for England isn't automatically the same for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
What the data shows about who's affected
UKHSA's data breaks diagnoses down by age, gender and region, and the pattern that shows up most consistently is that STI diagnoses skew toward younger adults, particularly those in their late teens and twenties, though every age group is represented in the figures. Genital herpes and syphilis trends specifically have shown more movement among women in recent UKHSA reporting than in some other groups.
None of that changes the basic practical point: STIs don't only affect people who fit a particular profile, and testing and barrier protection are relevant regardless of your age, gender or relationship status.
What actually protects you, regardless of which way the trend is moving
The headline direction doesn't change the practical advice, because the same things protect you whether overall diagnoses are climbing or falling that year:
Barrier methods reduce transmission risk. Condoms remain one of the most effective and accessible ways to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring most STIs during sex, including the infections currently showing the most movement in the data. If you specifically want extra reassurance, Durex Extra Safe is a thicker option some people prefer, though a correctly used standard condom is already effective protection.
Regular testing catches infections that don't show symptoms. A meaningful share of STIs, including chlamydia and genital herpes, can be present without obvious symptoms. Testing on a regular basis, particularly with new partners, is how most people actually find out their status.
A rising number for one infection isn't a reason to panic, and a falling overall number isn't a reason to stop testing. Both genuinely coexist in the current data, which is exactly why testing and barrier protection matter more than trying to time your risk to a headline.
Where to get tested
Free and confidential STI testing is available across the UK through NHS sexual health clinics, and in many areas through home testing kits ordered via the NHS. If you're not sure where your nearest service is, NHS.uk has a search tool that lists sexual health clinics by area.
A quick note on where these numbers come from
Every figure in this article is drawn from UKHSA's published annual STI surveillance data or from BBC News reporting that data directly. We haven't used any figures from sources that couldn't be traced back to UKHSA or an equivalent UK public health body. If a number felt uncertain or was reported inconsistently across sources, we've left it out rather than guess.
You can see the full official dataset yourself on gov.uk.
A note on medical advice
This article is intended to help you understand the published UK data and general prevention information. It isn't medical advice and shouldn't be used to assess your own personal risk or symptoms. If you're concerned about a possible STI, have symptoms, or want to know your own status, speak to a GP, visit a sexual health clinic, or call NHS 111.
Whatever the data shows this year, condoms remain one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect yourself and a partner, and pairing them with the right lubricant reduces the chance of breakage, which matters for both contraception and STI protection.
