Alien life exists in the universe, according to majority of UK, US and German public

Stephen Hawking says there is 'no bigger question' in science than the search for extra-terrestrial life

The titular alien character from 2011's 'Paul'

(Universal Pictures)

The majority of the public in Britain, Germany and the US believe that intelligent life is out there in the universe.

That's according to a new YouGov poll which found that more than one in two people think living creatures who have the ability to communicate and do not come from Earth exist.

Men were found to be more likely to believe in extra-terrestrial life in the US and the UK. Only in Germany was there a very slight majority of women (51 per cent) who believed in aliens.

Older generations were the least likely to believe in all three countries. In Britain, for example, 45 per cent over people over 60 believed in aliens, compared to 59 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds.

Earlier this year Stephen Hawking said that there was "no bigger question" in science than the search for extra-terrestrial life.

The world-renowned scientist is currently backing the biggest and most expensive search for alien life ever, which was launched by Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner.

Mr Milner launched the $100m project, called Breakthrough Listen, to give scientists some of the most promising chances to find alien life in the universe.