Global mental health disorders on the rise, WHO data shows

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GENEVA: Nearly one in eight people worldwide is currently living with a mental health disorder, while a person dies by suicide every 43 seconds on average, according to a comprehensive global health assessment by the World Health Organization.

The expanding dataset reveals that over one billion individuals are navigating psychological conditions, with numbers escalating globally across all economic brackets. Anxiety disorders have emerged as the most prevalent condition, impacting 359 million people a 50 percent surge since 1990. 

Depressive disorders closely follow, affecting 332 million individuals and standing as the leading contributor to gloal disability. Demographically, women and young adults bear a disproportionate burden of these conditions, which are heavily compounded by trauma and socioeconomic stressors.

Despite the compounding crisis, a severe global treatment gap persists, leaving three out of four anxiety sufferers completely without care.

 Health officials emphasise that stark underfunding particularly in low-income nations where per capita mental health spending sits at just four cents directly accelerates systemic vulnerabilities, turning manageable conditions into tragic, preventable outcomes.