There's no single "leading" country, as rankings vary by what's measured (wellbeing, treatment access, prevalence rates), but Scandinavian countries (like Sweden, Finland, Norway) often rank high for wellbeing and care, while Latin American nations (Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka) sometimes top measures of overall mental wellbeing by Sapien Labs. The U.S. and New Zealand show high need but also strong systems, while some studies point to high prevalence in Western nations like the Netherlands.
Where are mental disorders most common? In 2023, the countries with the highest age-standardized prevalence rates of mental disorders in the world were The Netherlands, Portugal, and Australia. We also see high prevalence in the United Kingdom, Iran, Malta, Brazil, and Ireland.
About one-quarter of U.S. adults report having a mental health diagnosis such as anxiety or depression or experiencing emotional distress. This is one of the highest rates among 11 high-income countries.
Sweden leads the world in mental health excellence
Sweden consistently ranks as the country with the best mental health treatment globally. Their universal healthcare system provides zero-cost mental health services to all citizens.
Greater competition, inequality, and loneliness are the principal factors of the modern, western social environment blamed for rising rates of psychopathology, including depression.
During 2020, 18.4% of U.S. adults reported having ever been diagnosed with depression; state-level age-standardized estimates ranged from 12.7% in Hawaii to 27.5% in West Virginia.
There's no single cause of depression. It can occur for a variety of reasons and it has many different triggers. For some people, an upsetting or stressful life event, such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries, can be the cause. Different causes can often combine to trigger depression.
Indeed, the four lowest lifetime prevalence estimates (<10%) were in low-middle income countries (Pondicherry, Mexico, Shenzen, South Africa). Conversely, with the exception of São Paulo, the highest rates (>18%) were in 4 high income countries (France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the US).
A new report ranks US states on rates of mental well-being and mental health care, and New York, Hawaii and New Jersey have outperformed the rest — in that order.
The most common are anxiety disorders major depression and bipolar disorder. Below is more information on these disorders and how ACCESS can help. Remember you are not alone, and medical experts are here to support you.
While the United States reported greater feelings of stress, anger, and worry, they also reported high feelings of positive experiences. In the same study conducted by Gallup, 82% of Americans expressed that they had felt enjoyment the day prior, trailing the world leader, Paraguay (91%), by less than 10 points.
The interview-styled study of thousands of people the world over found the highest prevalence of personality disorders in Colombia and the United States and the lowest in Nigeria and Western Europe, with some other countries falling in-between.
The United States ranks 29th in the world in prevalence of depressive disorders, with a rate of about 5%, or about 15 million Americans, estimated to have some form of depression.
Key data from World mental health today
Anxiety and depressive disorders are the most common types of mental health disorders among both men and women.
Nevada, Arizona and Alabama ranked lowest. A supplemental youth spotlight on mental health advocacy, created by MHA's Young Leaders Council, shows how young people are turning awareness into action and provides strategies and inspiration for other young people to follow.
Best Countries in the World for Mental Health Treatments
The prevalence of depression was lower among non-Hispanic Asian adults than among any other race and Hispanic-origin group. Overall, non-Hispanic Asian adults had the lowest prevalence of depression (3.1%) compared with Hispanic (8.2%), non-Hispanic white (7.9%), and non-Hispanic black (9.2%) adults.
Regular exercise may improve depression or anxiety symptoms enough to make a big difference. That big difference can help kick-start further improvements. The mental health benefits of exercise and physical activity may last only if you stick with them over the long term.
Lifetime prevalence estimates vary widely, from 3% in Japan to 17% in India. Epidemiological data shows higher rates of depression in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the United States than in other regions and countries.
New evidence shows that people who maintain a range of healthy habits, from good sleep to physical activity to strong social connections, are significantly less likely to experience depression.
Biologically, we think about genetics or a family history of depression, health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or thyroid disorders, and even hormonal changes that happen over the lifespan, such as pregnancy and menopause.
This could mean that in most cases of depression, around 50% of the cause is genetic, and around 50% is unrelated to genes (psychological or physical factors). Or it could mean that in some cases, the tendency to become depressed is almost completely genetic, and in other cases it is not really genetic at all.