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The numbers behind global mental health and its different disorders

A new study in The Lancet reports nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide had a mental health disorder in 2023, nearly double the 1990 figure. Anxiety and depression are the most common conditions, with women and young people disproportionately affected. Experts call for increased funding as the WHO notes mental health receives only 2% of government health budgets.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage May 21, 2026 Published Aug 13

Global mental health disorders near 1.2 billion, with anxiety and depression leading, study finds

Global mental health disorders have nearly doubled since 1990, with an estimated 1.17 billion people living with a mental health condition in 2023, according to a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet. The research, led by Dr. Damian Santomauro of the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), found that mental disorders now account for more than 17 percent of all disability worldwide.

Coverage Comparison

The numbers are striking, but they don't tell the whole story. According to ABC Australia's analysis, the number of anxiety disorder cases rose 47 percent from 1990 to 2023, after accounting for population growth. Major depressive disorders increased by 24 percent in the same period. But Al Jazeera's reporting emphasizes the scale of the crisis differently, citing WHO statistics that more than one billion people—roughly one in eight globally—currently live with a mental health condition.

Both outlets agree that the prevalence is rising. However, their framing differs slightly. ABC Australia, citing the IHME and University of Queensland study, focuses on the disability burden and calls for health system investment. Al Jazeera, meanwhile, highlights the funding gap, noting that median government spending on mental health is just 2 percent of health budgets globally.

Key Claims

Mental health disorders have nearly doubled since 1990, with 1.17 billion cases in 2023 (ABC Australia).
Anxiety disorder cases rose 47% from 1990 to 2023, and major depressive disorders rose 24% (ABC Australia).
Women are disproportionately affected, with 620 million living with a mental disorder in 2023 (ABC Australia).
Mental disorder burden peaks among 15-19 year-olds (ABC Australia).
The WHO estimates over one billion people live with a mental health condition (Al Jazeera).
Mental health receives only 2% of government health budgets on average (Al Jazeera).
Anxiety and depression are the most common conditions, affecting 359 million and 332 million people respectively (Al Jazeera).

Perspectives

While both sources present the broad contours of the mental health landscape, their emphases reflect different priorities. ABC Australia's coverage, drawing on the Lancet study, emphasizes the rising prevalence and the need for coordinated global action to address structural drivers such as poverty, insecurity, and declining social connectedness, as Santomauro suggested. Al Jazeera's reporting, while noting the rise, places greater weight on the systemic underfunding and the human toll, including the fact that suicide is the 17th leading cause of death globally, with 740,000 reported annually.

The differences in statistics—1.17 billion vs. one billion—stem from different data sources: the 2023 Global Burden of Disease study for ABC, and the WHO's most recent estimates for Al Jazeera. Both are credible, but the discrepancy underscores the complexity of global health tracking. Neither outlet suggests the other's figures are wrong; rather, they represent different measurement points and methodologies. As global health agencies and governments convene at events like the World Health Assembly, such data will be critical in shaping mental health policies and funding priorities for the coming decade.

How each outlet told it

ABC Australia as of May 21, 2026, 11:01 PM UTC

Framing: Rising mental health disorders — Informative and objective

Facts Included:

Mental health disorders have nearly doubled since 1990, with 1.17 billion cases globally in 2023
The number of anxiety disorder cases increased by 47% from 1990 to 2023, after accounting for population growth
Major depressive disorders increased by 24% from 1990 to 2023
Women are disproportionately affected, with 620 million living with a mental disorder in 2023
Young people are also heavily affected, with mental disorder burden peaking among 15-19 year-olds

Read the source article →

Al Jazeera as of May 21, 2026, 7:31 AM UTC

Framing: Mental health crisis — Informative and objective

Facts Included:

1 billion people globally are living with a mental health condition
Mental health is chronically underfunded, with median government spending globally on mental health at 2% of health budgets
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition, affecting 359 million people globally
Depressive disorders affect 332 million people globally
Suicide is the 17th leading cause of death across all age ranges, with 740,000 reported annually

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
Claim1 billion people globally are living with a mental health condition.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 21, 2026, 7:31 AM UTC
ClaimMental health is chronically underfunded, with median government spending globally on mental health at 2% of health budgets.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 21, 2026, 7:31 AM UTC
ClaimAnxiety disorders are the most common mental health condition, affecting 359 million people globally.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 21, 2026, 7:31 AM UTC
ClaimDepressive disorders affect 332 million people globally.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 21, 2026, 7:31 AM UTC
ClaimSuicide is the 17th leading cause of death across all age ranges, with 740,000 reported annually.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Al Jazeera as of May 21, 2026, 7:31 AM UTC
ClaimMental health disorders have nearly doubled since 1990, with 1.17 billion cases globally in 2023.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of May 21, 2026, 11:01 PM UTC
ClaimThe number of anxiety disorder cases increased by 47% from 1990 to 2023, after accounting for population growth.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of May 21, 2026, 11:01 PM UTC
ClaimMajor depressive disorders increased by 24% from 1990 to 2023.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of May 21, 2026, 11:01 PM UTC
ClaimWomen are disproportionately affected, with 620 million living with a mental disorder in 2023.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of May 21, 2026, 11:01 PM UTC
ClaimYoung people are also heavily affected, with mental disorder burden peaking among 15-19 year-olds.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via ABC Australia as of May 21, 2026, 11:01 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: ABC Australia, Al Jazeera 10 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-13