The numbers behind global mental health and its different disorders

Nearly one in eight people in the world lives with a mental disorder, and one person dies by suicide every 43 seconds. The World Health Organization (WHO) is convening in Geneva, Switzerland this week for the 79th World Health Assembly, where mental health is among the more than 75 agenda items that will be discussed. More than one billion people – roughly one in eight people globally – are currently living with a mental health condition, according to the WHO. And that number is rising. Of those affected, young people are among the hardest hit, while men face higher rates of suicide and women are experiencing disproportionately higher rates of anxiety and depression. Despite the scale of the crisis, mental health is chronically underfunded – median government spending globally on mental health is just two percent of health budgets, according to the WHO. What are mental health disorders? Mental health disorders are conditions that affect how people feel, think and behave. The WHO and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) categorise mental health conditions into several groups. Mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorders, affect a person’s mental state, often leading to prolonged periods of sadness or mood swings. Anxiety disorders include generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety and phobias, which are characterised by fear or worry. Psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, involve delusions, distorted thinking and hallucinations. Trauma-related disorders, which include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), develop in response to distressing or life-threatening events. There are also other mental health conditions such as eating disorders, personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, dissociative disorders and substance use disorders. Explore the table below to find out more about conditions. Mental health prevalence globally Mental health disorders are widespread and on the rise globally. According to the WHO, one in eight people lives with a mental health condition, with anxiety and depressive disorders being the most common types. Mental health disorders tend to affect people across income groups. However, treatment in low- and middle-income countries is scarcer. Spending on mental health ranges from $0.04 per capita in low-income countries to $0.34 per capita in lower-middle income countries and $65.89 in high-income countries, according to the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2024, which collected data from 75 countries. The prevalence of mental health disorders across WHO regions in 2019 was Americas: 15.6 percent of the population 15.6 percent of the population Eastern Mediterranean: 14.7 percent 14.7 percent Europe: 14.2 percent 14.2 percent Southeast Asia: 13.2 percent 13.2 percent Western Pacific: 11.7 percent 11.7 percent Africa: 10.9 percent During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of mental health disorders rose globally, with anxiety and depression surging in particular. According to the latest Global Burden of Disease report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the disease burden caused by mental illnesses, which uses a measure called DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years), is as follows Depressive disorders 694.6 per 100,000 694.6 per 100,000 Anxiety disorders 686.5 per 100,000 686.5 per 100,000 Schizophrenia 210.2 per 100,000 210.2 per 100,000 Bipolar disorder 94.6 per 100,000 94.6 per 100,000 Eating disorders 47.5 per 100,000 DALYs quanitfies how much healthy life is lost due to a condition by looking at years of life lost i.e. premature death and the years lived with a disability. Mental health disorders are the leading global contributors to disability, accounting for roughly one in every six years lived with disability (YLDs) worldwide – the second biggest cause of long-term disability, according to the WHO. One death by suicide every 43 seconds According to an analysis published in the medical journal The Lancet, about 740,000 suicides are reported annually – one death every 43 seconds, on average. Suicide is the 17th leading cause of death across all age ranges, but it rises sharply among young people. It is the third leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29 globally, and the second leading cause of death among 15-to-29-year-old women. More men die by suicide than women. In 2021, the incidence of male suicides was four times higher than female suicides globally, with a suicide rate of 12.8 per 100,000 for males compared to 5.4 per 100,000 for females. According to the WHO, vulnerable groups that face discrimination, such as refugees, Indigenous people and the LGBTQ+ community, see higher rates of suicide. Anxiety is the most common mental health condition An estimated 359 million people globally have an anxiety disorder. That number has increased by more than 50 percent since 1990. Women are more likely to be affected by anxiety disorders than men, according to the WHO. Young peop