Depression and anxiety awareness

The scale, in numbers

The headline figure is from WHO’s mental disorders fact sheet (11 September 2026, using Global Burden of Disease 2023 data): more than 1 billion people worldwide live with a mental health condition. Anxiety disorders affect about 470 million people and depression about 322 million people, and together the two account for about two-thirds of all mental health cases. The figure replaces an older headline — about 970 million people, from 2019 data — which is now superseded and should not be quoted as current. The change is not a sudden rise in one year; it is a newer estimate built on newer data. A population figure describes the world. It does not describe any one person, and it cannot be used to judge whether a particular person has a condition.

What anxiety means at population level

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions worldwide. WHO’s adolescent figures show the pattern by age: anxiety affects 4.1% of 10–14-year-olds and 5.3% of 15–19-year-olds. In later life the picture continues: about 15% of adults aged 70 and over lived with a mental disorder in 2023, most commonly anxiety or depression (WHO, fact sheet 20 July 2026). Anxiety is not a single experience — the term covers a group of conditions — and this page does not list symptoms or describe what anxiety feels like for an individual. The companion guides on this site cover anxiety in teenagers and in the workplace, where the same conditions meet different parts of life.

What depression means at population level

Depression affects about 322 million people worldwide (WHO, 11 September 2026). By age, WHO’s adolescent figures put depression at 1.3% of 10–14-year-olds and 3.4% of 15–19-year-olds, rising with age. Depression and anxiety frequently occur together, and both are among the leading causes of illness and disability in adolescents and in adults. As with anxiety, this page names the condition and gives its scale; it does not describe symptoms, list warning signs, or suggest what any individual should do about their own mood. The boundary matters: a signs list on this site would edge toward screening, which is outside its scope.

Mental health across the life course

Mental health conditions are not confined to one age group. In children and teenagers, 1 in 7 of those aged 10–19 experiences a mental health condition (WHO, 1 September 2025). In working-age adults, 16% were estimated to have a mental disorder in 2023 (WHO, mental health at work). In adults aged 70 and over, about 15% lived with a mental disorder in 2023, and mental disorders accounted for 6.8% of years lived with disability in that age group (WHO, 20 July 2026). The same conditions appear at every stage of life, in different proportions and in different settings — family, school, work, and older age. The guides in this hub follow that thread: children’s mental health, teen anxiety, mental health at work, and loneliness and social connection in older people.

What this page does not do

This page does not screen, score, diagnose or triage anyone. It does not give personal advice, suggest a treatment, or name a medicine. It does not list symptoms as a self-check. Those boundaries are deliberate: the site explains what conditions are, how common they are, and where official support routes are, and it leaves personal questions to a clinician. For a personal question, the routes are a clinician, a local health service, or the official routes in the Wellbeing Support Directory on this site.

Where to find support

The Wellbeing Support Directory on this site lists official support routes only — no scoring, no questionnaire, no triage — and carries the site’s crisis banner: “If life is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number or go to your nearest emergency department.” The companion guide on suicide prevention awareness explains WHO’s prevention framing, and the guide on tackling stigma and asking for help covers the barrier that most often stands between a person and support: the fear of being judged for asking.

Frequently asked questions