Nepal in numbers
The figures behind the atlas: how common mental illness is in Nepal, how many people get help, and where each number comes from.
The headline
One in ten adults in Nepal has had a mental disorder at some point in their life (10.0%, 95% confidence interval 8.5 to 11.8). About one in twenty right now (4.3%, 3.5 to 5.2).
The survey spoke to 9,200 adults and 5,888 adolescents between January 2019 and January 2020.
Source: National Mental Health Survey 2020, Ministry of Health and Population with the Nepal Health Research Council.
How common each disorder is
| Condition | When | % | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any mental disorder | Lifetime | 10.0 | 8.5 to 11.8 |
| Any mental disorder | Current (past 12 months) | 4.3 | 3.5 to 5.2 |
| Major depressive disorder | Lifetime | 2.9 | 2.3 to 3.7 |
| Major depressive disorder | Current | 1.0 | 0.8 to 1.4 |
| Generalized anxiety disorder | Current | 0.8 | 0.6 to 1.1 |
| Panic disorder | Lifetime | 0.7 | 0.6 to 0.9 |
| Panic disorder | Current | 0.4 | 0.3 to 0.5 |
| Obsessive-compulsive disorder | Current | 0.2 | 0.1 to 0.4 |
| Phobic anxiety disorder | Current | 0.2 | 0.1 to 0.4 |
| Agoraphobia | Current | 0.2 | 0.1 to 0.4 |
| Social anxiety disorder | Current | 0.1 | 0.0 to 0.3 |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Current | 0.0 | 0.0 to 0.2 |
| Schizophrenia and related | Lifetime | 0.2 | 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Schizophrenia and related | Current | 0.1 | 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Bipolar disorder | Lifetime | 0.2 | 0.1 to 0.5 |
| Bipolar disorder | Current | 0.1 | 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Alcohol use disorder | Past 12 months | 4.2 | 3.6 to 4.8 |
| Adolescents, any disorder | Lifetime | 5.2 | 4.2 to 6.4 |
Read the table with care. The post-traumatic stress figure is 0.0% with a confidence interval up to 0.2%: a rounding floor, not an absence. Alcohol use disorder at 4.2% over the past year is higher than major depressive disorder at 2.9% lifetime, so any page that leads with depression as the most common condition misleads.
“Current” means the past 12 months. Compare a current figure only with the 4.3% any-disorder current, and a lifetime figure only with the 10.0% lifetime.
Source: National Mental Health Survey 2020.
The treatment gap
| Among adults with a mental disorder | % |
|---|---|
| Did not seek treatment (the treatment gap) | 77.3 |
| Talked to anyone about symptoms | 40.1 |
| Sought treatment | 22.7 |
| Adhered to treatment | 21.1 |
| Consulted a faith healer | 6.7 |
| Admitted to hospital | 3.7 |
| Talked to a health service provider | 3.5 |
| Consulted a traditional healer | 1.9 |
| Saw a counsellor | 0.3 |
| Saw a psychologist | 0.2 |
About 77 in every 100 adults with a mental disorder did not seek treatment. Most told a family member; only a small minority reached a health worker. This gap, not the prevalence, is the number that matters most for anyone training to close it.
Source: National Mental Health Survey 2020.
Suicide
7,223 people died by suicide in fiscal year 2080/81, counted by Nepal Police. Of them, 4,011 were men, 2,364 women, 574 girls and 272 boys.
The four recorded years do not show a rising trend: 7,117, then 6,792, then 6,993, then 7,223. The series dips in the middle and ends near where it began.
Source: Nepal Police, Annual Factsheet on Suicide and Cyber Crime, fiscal year 2080/81.
Money and people
Mental health received 0.2% of the health budget in 2020, down from 0.8% in 2008. There were 200 psychiatrists (up from 39), 500 psychiatric beds, and about 700 psychosocial counsellors trained to the 780-hour curriculum this atlas is built for.
Globally, the median country spends 2.1% of its government health spending on mental health, with 13.5 specialised mental-health workers per 100,000 people. Low-income countries have 1.1 to 2.4. About 9.1% of people with depression worldwide receive minimally adequate treatment, and that figure is modelled, not counted.
Sources: Rai et al., BJPsych International (Nepal); WHO Mental Health Atlas 2024 (global).
How to read these numbers
Every figure here is measured in Nepal and names its source, except the global depression coverage, which is a modelled estimate from the WHO Mental Health Atlas. The survey fieldwork ended in January 2020, so every survey figure is at least six years old.
- National Mental Health Survey 2020, Dhimal et al., Journal of Nepal Health Research Council, and its CSVs on opendatanepal.com.
- Nepal Police, Annual Factsheet on Suicide and Cyber Crime, fiscal year 2080/81.
- Rai et al., BJPsych International, for financing and workforce.
- WHO Mental Health Atlas 2024, for the global comparison.
A number is a population pattern, not a prediction about any one person. This page is a reference, not a diagnosis.