Geneva, 2 September 2025 — New global data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that more than 1 billion people are living with mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, with profound consequences for individuals, communities, and economies. While some countries have strengthened policies and programs in recent years, WHO is urging governments to dramatically increase investment and accelerate reforms.

Mental health conditions on the rise

The reports, World Mental Health Today and the Mental Health Atlas 2024, reveal that mental health disorders are among the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide. They affect people across all ages and income levels, with women disproportionately impacted. Anxiety and depression are the most widespread conditions, and suicide remains a critical concern, claiming an estimated 727,000 lives in 2021. At the current pace, the global target of reducing suicide deaths by one-third by 2030 will fall short, reaching only a 12% reduction.

Economic and social toll

Mental health conditions drive significant financial strain. While treatment and care costs are substantial, the indirect costs from lost productivity are even greater. Depression and anxiety alone are estimated to cost the global economy around $1 trillion annually.

Findings from the Mental Health Atlas 2024

The Atlas highlights mixed progress:

• Policy and planning: Many nations have updated mental health strategies and adopted rights-based approaches, but legal reform lags, with less than half of countries fully compliant with international human rights standards.
• Funding gaps: Global median spending on mental health remains at just 2% of health budgets, unchanged since 2017. Stark inequalities persist, with high-income countries spending up to $65 per person compared to only $0.04 in low-income nations.
• Workforce shortages: The median number of mental health workers stands at 13 per 100,000 people, with severe deficits in low- and middle-income countries.
• Service models: Fewer than 10% of countries have fully transitioned to community-based care. Psychiatric hospitals continue to dominate, with nearly half of inpatient admissions occurring involuntarily and more than 20% lasting over a year.
• Primary care integration: Around 71% of countries meet at least three of five WHO criteria for integrating mental health into primary care. However, in low-income settings, fewer than 10% of people with psychosis receive treatment, compared to over 50% in higher-income nations.
• Emerging initiatives: Encouragingly, over 80% of countries now provide mental health and psychosocial support during emergencies, up from 39% in 2020. School-based programs, early childhood development, and suicide prevention initiatives are increasingly common, while telehealth and outpatient services are expanding unevenly.

A call to action

WHO is calling on governments and global partners to take urgent steps to transform mental health services. Priority actions include:

• Ensuring fair financing and increasing the share of health budgets allocated to mental health;
• Advancing legal and policy reforms that safeguard human rights;
• Expanding and investing in the mental health workforce;
• Shifting toward community-based, person-centered models of care that reduce reliance on psychiatric hospitals.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that investing in mental health is not optional: “Every government and every leader has a responsibility to act with urgency and to ensure that mental health care is treated not as a privilege, but as a basic right for all.”

The reports arrive ahead of the 2025 United Nations High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases and Promotion of Mental Health and Well-being, scheduled for 25 September in New York, where global leaders are expected to discuss strategies for scaling up action.