Mental health statistics

1 in 4 adults in England will experience a mental health problem each year, and other recent mental health facts and statistics.

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Our understanding of mental health, and how it affects our lives, is developing all the time. As part of improving our understanding of mental health issues and specific disorders, it can help to familiarise yourself with some of the latest research, facts, and statistics on the topic.

To help grow your awareness of mental health, we’ve listed some facts and figures below, from leading organisations across mental and public health.

2026 campaign research: find your way

Priory's campaign, find your way, discovered that in 2026, there are three key areas that are affecting people's mental health in the UK.

The cost of living crisis
Being bombarded by bad news
Experiencing family pressure

Key insight: More than half of Brits reported feeling anxious or depressed in the last 12 months, with over a third saying they have felt this way constantly. This was much more common among women

Key insight: The constant stream of bad news and upsetting content is negatively affecting the public’s mental health – and most say it is much worse than five years ago

Key insight: Upsetting content is having such a big impact on the nation's mental health that it is driving millions of people to A&E and their GP

Key insight: Financial pressures have become a widespread mental health issue rather than simply an economic one – with the burden felt most heavily by women and middle-aged adults already balancing work, family, and financial responsibilities

Use the tabs below to find more key insights into these areas that affect us most.

Almost 2 in 5 people (39%) say they have felt constantly anxious or overwhelmed in the last 12 months, but this rises to 49% among those who say financial pressures have negatively affected their wellbeing
2 in 5 people across the UK (40%) say the cost-of-living crisis or financial pressure has negatively affected their mental wellbeing in the last 12 months

Who is most affected by financial pressure

The impact is felt more strongly by women, with almost half reporting a negative effect (46% vs. 33% of men)
Financial pressures affect people across all age groups, but are most pronounced among 45–64-year-olds, where almost half (48%) report a negative impact on their mental wellbeing
Regions most affected include Northern Ireland (46%), Wales (45%), the North West (45%), and the South East (44%) – with the cities of Southampton (48%), Liverpool (45%), and Manchester (45%) reporting the highest levels of impact

Where people see information about financial pressures

Those negatively affected by financial pressures most commonly report seeing information on the topic through TV (58%), followed by social media (36%)
Exposure through TV is more common among older age groups, increasing from 39% of 18–24-year-olds to 76% of over-65s, whereas those under 45 are more likely to encounter information about financial pressures via social media than TV

More than half (59%) of respondents report that they see content that upsets, worries or scares them at least once a week – with 15% saying they see such content every day
More than half (52%) say they see upsetting stories and news much more frequently than five years ago, with two in five (40%) saying they find it difficult to avoid seeing upsetting content

The emotional impact of upsetting news

One in three respondents (33%) say that repeated exposure to upsetting news or content makes them feel depressed or low – with women much more likely to report this (37% vs 26%)
One in three (33%) say exposure to upsetting content makes them feel anxious or stressed – women are more likely to experience this (38% vs 27%)
A third of respondents (35%) said the amount of upsetting news and information that they see makes it harder to enjoy life than it used to, with more than two in five (43%) saying they find the world a depressing place.

Avoiding news and changes to daily life

A quarter of respondents (26%) say they avoid the news due to upsetting content, with one in five (22%) saying that they limit use of social media for the same reason
One in ten respondents say that the way negative or distressing news makes them feel means they struggle to carry out my normal activities (e.g., school, work, household tasks) and one in five (20%) now stay home more often as a result
7% of respondents say they have been signed off from work due to poor mental health, as a result ofhow negative or distressing news makes them feel. This is the equivalent to 5,000,064 people

Family, parenting, and relationship pressures

1 in 5 respondents (20%) say family, parenting or relationship pressures have negatively affected their mental wellbeing in the last 12 months
This is more commonly reported by women than men (25% vs. 15%)
Rates are highest among 18–24s (29%) and 35–44s (27%)
The South East and East of England (23%) report the highest levels overall, with particularly high rates in the cities of Bristol and Glasgow (27%), Belfast (26%), and Birmingham (24%)
Content or information that contributes to these pressures are most commonly shared by family and friends (43%), followed by social media (25%)
Feelings of persistent anxiety are even more pronounced among those affected by family pressures or concerns about their children’s wellbeing, reported by over half (55%)

Concerns about children’s mental wellbeing

14% say worries about their children’s mental health and wellbeing have negatively impacted their mental wellbeing in the last 12 months
Women are again more likely to report this than men (17% vs. 11%)
Respondents report most frequently hearing/seeing content or information on this topic from family and friends (36%), followed by social media (25%)
36% say they have felt constantly low or depressed over the last year, but this increases to 44% among those affected by financial pressures, and rises further to 49% among those worried about family pressures or their children’s wellbeing

Caring responsibilities

11% say caring responsibilities have negatively affected their mental wellbeing

7% of respondents say they have been signed off from work due to poor mental health, as a result of how negative or distressing news makes them feel. This is the equivalent to 5,000,064 people
5% of respondents report having attended A&E due to poor mental health linked to negative or distressing news and content, equivalent to more than 3 million people across today’s UK population. We also estimate that 9,484,975 people have sought support from their GP for the same issue (13%)
More than a quarter (27%) have been treated for stress or anxiety in last three years, with a similar proportion (25%) reporting starting treatment for depression
However, just over a quarter (27%) also said that they needed support for anxiety or depression and haven’t yet received it – with top reasons being that they felt embarrassed or ashamed (23%) or due to the long waiting times for help (21%)
Priory has seen enquiries for anxiety or depression increase by 68% since 2019 – with a 25% increase in the last 12 months

general mental health statistics you should know graphic

Prevalence and demographics

Approximately 1 in 4 adults in England will experience a mental health problem each year. [1]
Women are more likely than men to experience common mental health problems, with 20.7% of women and 13.2% of men affected. [1]
Young women aged 16 to 24 are at the highest risk, with 28.2% experiencing a common mental disorder. [1]
Black or Black British individuals have higher rates of psychotic disorders (3.2%) compared to White individuals (0.3%). [1]
In 2023, there were 6,069 suicides registered in England and Wales, equating to 11.4 deaths per 100,000 people, the highest rate since 1999. [2]

Youth mental health

In 2020, 1 in 6 children aged 5 to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem, a significant increase from 1 in 9 in 2017. [3]
Rates of self-harm among young women have tripled since 1993, with 25.7% of women aged 16 to 24 reporting self-harm in their lifetime. [4]

Economic and social impact

The cost of poor mental health is calculated at £300 billion a year in England. [5]
In 2022, the public sector in the UK lost 18.5 million working days due to mental health-related issues, marking an increase of over two million compared to 2020. [6]
In 2024, 7.8% of adults in the UK reported feeling lonely 'always or often'. [5]

Treatment and support

35% of 18-25 year olds reporting an emotional or mental health difficulty do not seek any formal or informal help. [7]
22% of survey respondents into barriers to treatment said a perceived stigma was the most significant barrier to accessing mental health care [8]
Approximately one in eight adults with a mental health problem are currently receiving treatment. [1]

Around the world

In 2019, 970 million people worldwide were living with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depression being the most common. [9]
As of 2020, 171 out of 194 WHO Member States reported having a stand-alone mental health policy or plan, reflecting a global commitment to addressing mental health issues. [10]

Specific mental health disorders

Depression

Approximately 280 million people in the world have depression [11]
Adults aged 16 to 29 years are most likely to experience some form of depression (28%) in Great Britain. [12]
Adults economically inactive due to long-term sickness have a 59% prevalence of moderate to severe depressive symptoms in Great Britain. [12]

Anxiety

In any given week in England, 6 in 100 people are diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder. [1]
In 2023-24, there were 204,526 new referrals of patients aged 17 or under where the primary cause was anxiety. This is more than double the rate before the pandemic began. [13]
Globally, only about 1 in 4 (27.6%) of people with an anxiety disorder receive any treatment yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment. [14]

Stress

In 2018, a survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that 74% of UK adults felt so stressed at some point that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. [15]
In 2021, approximately 875,000 workers in Great Britain reported experiencing work-related stress, depression, or anxiety, making it one of the most common causes of work-related ill health. [16]
A 2024 survey revealed that UK adults aged 18 to 24 reported feeling stressed for an average of 11.3 days per month, compared to the UK average of 10.3 days per month. [17]