Global Mental Health Disorders Affect 1.2 Billion People, Nearly Double Since 1990

Nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide had mental disorders in 2023, a 95.5% increase from 1990, according to the 2023 Global Burden of Diseases study published May 23, 2026 in The Lancet. Anxiety disorders increased 158% and depression increased 131% over the period, becoming the two most common conditions. The 15- to 19-year-old age group showed peak mental disorder burden for the first time in study history, shifting from historical middle-age peaks.

Global mental health prevalence

• ▪Personality disorders not accompanied by other mental or substance use disorders ranked third among mental disorders in 2023.
• ▪The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study is led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
• ▪The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study has been primarily funded by the Gates Foundation since 2007.
• ▪Mental disorders worldwide increased 95.5% from 1990 to 2023.
• ▪Approximately 4 million people had anorexia in 2023.
• ▪Dr. Damian Santomauro is the first and lead author of the study on global mental disorders and is an associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland in Australia.
• ▪Nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide had mental disorders in 2023.
• ▪The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study was launched in the early 1990s.
• ▪The 2023 Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study analyzed mental disorder trends across 204 countries and territories.
• ▪The study measured 12 mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anorexia, bulimia, dysthymia, conduct disorder, and developmental intellectual disability from unknown causes.
• ▪The study on global mental disorders was published on May 23, 2026 in the journal The Lancet.

Anxiety disorder increases

• ▪Anxiety disorder rates were already increasing before the Covid-19 pandemic.
• ▪Anxiety was one of the two most common mental disorders in 2023.
• ▪Anxiety disorders increased 158% from 1990 to 2023.

Depression disorder increases

• ▪Depression increased 131% from 1990 to 2023.

Pandemic impact on disorders

• ▪Depression increased during the Covid-19 pandemic and has not returned to pre-pandemic rates.
• ▪Anxiety peaked during the Covid-19 pandemic and remained high through 2023.

Demographic patterns by age

• ▪The 15- to 19-year-old age group showed a peak in mental disorder burden for the first time in Global Burden of Diseases study history.
• ▪Mental disorder burden historically peaked in middle-age groups in prior Global Burden of Diseases studies.
• ▪People ages 15 to 39 are among the groups most affected by mental disorder-related disability.

1 source