TOP 10 Countries by Depressive Disorder Prevalence (2025)
Drawing on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimates and WHO Global Health Observatory datasets, this overview highlights countries where depressive disorders affect the largest share of the population. Values are based on the most recent GBD release (2019 data, published in 2023–2024 and reused in 2025 compilations) and show the proportion of people living with depressive disorders at any point in time.
Depressive disorders are among the leading causes of disability worldwide. They are characterised by persistent low mood, loss of interest, changes in sleep and appetite, impaired concentration and, in severe cases, suicidal thoughts. Although effective psychological and pharmacological treatments exist, treatment gaps remain large, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Recent GBD and WHO estimates suggest that around 4–6% of adults globally are living with depression at any given moment. Because of population growth and ageing, the absolute number of people affected has risen steadily since 1990, even where age-standardised rates are roughly stable. Depressive disorders now account for a sizable fraction of all years lived with disability (YLDs), placing them in the top tier of global health priorities.
The ranking below uses GBD-based estimates of depressive-disorder prevalence by country, converted into a share of the population for comparability. It focuses on the ten countries with the highest recorded prevalence in the latest available data.
Table 1. Prevalence of depressive disorders, top 10 countries
Approximate share of the population with depressive disorders in the highest-prevalence countries, based on GBD 2019 data as reported in 2024–2025 compilations. Values are rounded to one decimal place.
| Rank & country | Prevalence (% of population) | Estimated cases (million people) |
|---|---|---|
| #1 United Kingdom | 7.0% | ≈ 4.9 million |
| #2 Netherlands | 6.9% | ≈ 1.2 million |
| #3 Ukraine | 6.6% | ≈ 2.6 million |
| #4 Tunisia | 6.1% | ≈ 0.73 million |
| #5 Lebanon | 5.9% | ≈ 0.34 million |
| #6 Greece | 5.9% | ≈ 0.63 million |
| #7 Switzerland | 5.8% | ≈ 0.52 million |
| #8 Mauritius | 5.4% | ≈ 0.07 million |
| #9 Libya | 5.3% | ≈ 0.39 million |
| #10 Chile | 5.3% | ≈ 1.0 million |
The high-ranking countries in Table 1 reflect a combination of true underlying risk and measurement effects. High-income countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Greece combine population ageing, high levels of psychosocial stress and comparatively strong health-system capacity to recognise depression. At the same time, middle-income countries in North Africa and the Middle East (Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya) and Eastern Europe (Ukraine) show elevated rates that are plausibly linked to economic shocks, conflict exposure and rapid social change.
Small states like Mauritius can appear disproportionately high because a modest absolute increase in diagnosed cases translates into a large shift when expressed as a percentage of the population. Conversely, large low- and middle-income countries with weaker mental-health systems may have substantial “hidden” depression burden that remains under-diagnosed and under-reported. This makes direct comparisons between countries informative but imperfect: the ranking is best interpreted as a map of where documented depressive disorders are most common, rather than a precise league table of emotional well-being.
Another important nuance is that depressive disorders frequently co-occur with other mental and physical conditions. In many high-burden countries, people experiencing depression also face anxiety disorders, harmful alcohol or drug use, chronic pain, diabetes or cardiovascular disease. These co-morbidities generate complex care needs and amplify the overall health and economic impact of depression on households and health systems.
Figure 1. Prevalence of depressive disorders in the top 10 countries
Bar chart showing the approximate share of the population with depressive disorders in the ten countries listed in Table 1. Data are derived from GBD 2019 estimates used in 2024–2025 country compilations.
From prevalence to disability burden: YLDs per 100,000 people
Prevalence tells us how many people are affected, but not how severely their lives are limited. For that we use Years Lived with Disability (YLDs), which combine the number of people with a condition and the severity of their symptoms. In the Global Burden of Disease framework, depressive disorders rank among the leading causes of YLDs worldwide, often second only to chronic pain and musculoskeletal conditions.
Because deaths directly attributed to depressive disorders are relatively rare, the depression component of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) is almost entirely composed of YLDs. For countries, high DALY rates for depression therefore signal a substantial disability burden that is concentrated in working-age adults and women. The Pan American Health Organization’s analysis of mental-disorder burden in the Americas illustrates this pattern clearly.
Table 2. Depressive-disorder DALY/YLD rates in selected high-burden countries
Age-standardised DALYs per 100,000 population due to depressive disorders, 2019 (Region of the Americas). Because mortality from depression is low, DALYs can be interpreted as a close proxy for YLD rates.
| Country | DALYs per 100k (≈ YLD rate) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Guyana | 941.5 | Highest recorded depressive-disorder DALY rate in the Americas; small population with substantial unmet mental-health needs. |
| Suriname | 894.4 | Very high disability burden, reflecting both elevated prevalence and limited access to specialised care. |
| United States of America | 800.0 | High absolute and per-capita burden; strong service capacity but persistent gaps in coverage, affordability and continuity of care. |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 715.6 | Small island state with significant YLD burden from depressive and other mental disorders. |
| Dominican Republic | 712.4 | High depression-related disability in the context of wider noncommunicable disease burden. |
| Brazil | 704.5 | Large middle-income country where depressive disorders are a leading cause of YLDs, particularly among women and working-age adults. |
| Cuba | 704.5 | High disability burden despite relatively strong primary healthcare infrastructure. |
Figure 2. Indexed change in depressive-disorder prevalence, 1990–2021
Illustrative index (1990 = 100) showing how depressive-disorder prevalence has changed over three decades in selected countries. Values approximate the direction and magnitude of trends in recent GBD analyses and are not an official IHME series.
Across most high- and upper-middle-income settings, the age-standardised prevalence of depressive disorders has changed only modestly since 1990. However, the absolute number of people affected has grown substantially as populations have expanded and aged. GBD 2021 analyses show a marked uptick around 2020–2021 associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in regions with stringent public-health restrictions, school closures and sharp economic contractions.
For health systems, the data point towards three strategic priorities. First, early detection and basic treatment in primary care need to become routine, with non-specialist providers trained to identify and manage common mental disorders. Second, countries should scale evidence-based psychological interventions and ensure rational use of antidepressant medication, avoiding both under-treatment and inappropriate long-term prescribing. Third, policies must address the social determinants of depression – poverty, unemployment, violence, discrimination and social isolation – if the long-term trajectory of depressive-disorder burden is to be reversed rather than merely managed.
Data sources and methodological references
Main international datasets and peer-reviewed studies used for prevalence, DALY/YLD rates and long-term trends in depressive disorders.
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World Health Organization – Depression fact sheet (updated 2025)Global overview of depression: definitions, estimated prevalence (around 5–6% of adults), risk factors, consequences and key messages on treatment gaps and policy priorities.
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WHO Global Health Observatory – Estimated population-based prevalence of depressionOfficial WHO indicator with country-level estimates of depression prevalence by year, derived from WHO and GBD modelling; used to cross-check prevalence levels.
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Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation – Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 & 2021Core source for country-level prevalence, incidence, DALY and YLD estimates for depressive disorders by age and sex; provides the quantitative basis for the TOP-10 ranking.
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World Population Review – “Depression Rates by Country 2025”Compilation of GBD-based estimates of depressive-disorder rates per 100,000 people and in percent by country; used to identify the specific TOP-10 countries and their approximate prevalence values.
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PAHO / WHO – “The Burden of Mental Disorders in the Region of the Americas, 2000–2019”Regional report providing age-standardised DALY and YLD rates per 100,000 population for depressive disorders in American countries; informs Table 2 on high-burden states such as Guyana, Suriname, the United States, Brazil and others.
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Rong et al. – “Global, regional and national burden of depressive disorders…: results from the 2021 Global Burden of Disease study” (The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2024/2025)Peer-reviewed analysis of GBD 2021, estimating about 56 million DALYs due to depressive disorders and documenting trends in prevalence and disability burden between 1990 and 2021.
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Chen et al. / GBD 2021 – “Trends in prevalent cases and disability-adjusted life-years for depression” (2025)Supplementary GBD-based work quantifying global prevalent cases (around 330 million) and the share of total disease burden attributable to depression, with emphasis on pandemic-related increases and regional contrasts.
