Facts on Mental Health

Information from Mental Health Council of Australia    fact sheets

• One out of every five Australians [about 20%] will experience some form of mental illness each year. Three out of every ten [about 3 %] will be seriously affected.
• Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental disorders experienced by Australians. Depression alone is predicted to be one of the world’s largest health problems by 2020.
• Nearly one in 10 Australians will experience some type of anxiety disorder each year - around one in 12 women and one in eight men. One in four people will experience an anxiety disorder at some stage of their lives.
• Around one million Australian adults and 100,000 young people live with depression each year. On average, one in five people will experience depression in their lives; one in four females and one in six males.
• Mental illness affects young people. Around 14% of 12-17 year olds and 27% of 18-25 year olds experience a mental illness in any given year. At least one third of young people have had an episode of mental illness by the age of 25 years.
• The majority of mental illnesses begin between the ages of 15-25 years. This poses a significant threat to our nation’s future workforce capacity and economic prosperity.
• The 2001 National Health Survey estimated that 1.8 million Australians (9.6% of the population) had a long term mental or behavioural problem of more than 6 months duration. Of these, 130,600 (0.7%) were related to drug and alcohol problems.
• Approximately two thirds of people with a mental illness do not receive any treatment in any 12 month period.
• Mental disorders and suicide account for 14.2 % of Australia’s total health burden - which equates to 374,541 years of healthy life lost
  Estimates suggest that up to 75 % of people presenting with alcohol and drug problems also have additional mental health problems.
• Reports indicate that up to 85% of homeless people have a mental illness.