Over 1 Billion People Suffer from Mental Health Disorders, WHO Urges Urgent Global Action

New Delhi, 19 September, 2025: More than 1 billion people across the globe are currently living with mental health disorders, according to two newly released reports by the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighting a deepening global crisis. The reports — World Mental Health Today and the Mental Health Atlas 2024 — provide a sobering assessment of mental health systems worldwide, showing that despite some progress in policy, investment and access to care remain grossly inadequate.

Conditions like anxiety and depression remain the most common and are now the second leading cause of long-term disability globally. These disorders are not only affecting individual well-being but also putting immense pressure on families, health systems, and economies. According to WHO, depression and anxiety alone cost the global economy an estimated US$ 1 trillion every year, largely due to lost productivity.

The reports also show that mental health issues are widespread across all income groups and age ranges, but women are disproportionately affected. Suicide continues to be a major concern, with an estimated 727,000 deaths in 2021. It remains one of the leading causes of death among young people, and efforts to reduce suicide rates globally are far off track. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of reducing suicide rates by one-third by 2030 appears increasingly unlikely, with current trends pointing to just a 12% reduction by the deadline.

In terms of financing, WHO reports a troubling stagnation. Median government spending on mental health has remained at just 2% of total health budgets since 2017. The disparity is glaring: while high-income countries spend up to US$ 65 per person on mental health, low-income countries spend as little as US$ 0.04. There’s also a significant shortage of trained mental health professionals, with a global median of just 13 workers per 100,000 people—far lower in low-income countries.

Legal and rights-based reforms are lagging as well. Only 45% of countries have laws that are fully aligned with international human rights standards. Meanwhile, community-based care — considered a more humane and effective approach — has been implemented in fewer than 10% of countries. Most mental health services are still centered around psychiatric hospitals, with nearly half of all inpatient admissions being involuntary and more than 20% lasting over a year.

Despite the challenges, there are signs of hope. Over 80% of countries now include mental health and psychosocial support in emergency response plans — a sharp rise from 39% in 2020. Early childhood development programmes, school-based mental health initiatives, and suicide prevention campaigns are also becoming more common. Additionally, more countries are integrating mental health services into primary healthcare, with 71% meeting at least three of WHO’s five criteria.

Ahead of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on noncommunicable diseases and mental health in New York on September 25, 2025, WHO is calling on governments to increase funding, reform outdated laws, train more mental health professionals, and expand community-based, person-centered services. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that mental health care must be recognized not as a privilege, but as a basic human right for all.