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Anxiety statistics 2025

These statistics highlight the prevalence of anxiety around the world and how it impacts individuals and society
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By | Updated on Jan. 23, 2025 Medically reviewed by Scott Dershowitz, LMSW, CMC, Lindsey Hudson, APRN, NP-C, CDCES & Josephine Bawab, Pharm.D.
Map of America with charts and graphs: Anxiety Statistics

Key takeaways

  • Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder worldwide.

  • Global anxiety rates have risen from 3.7% to 4.4% between 1990 and 2021.

  • Adults ages 18–29 are more likely to experience anxiety than any other age group, and women are more likely to experience anxiety than men.

  • Causes of anxiety may be a combination of genetic, medical, and environmental factors.

  • Treatment for anxiety may include therapy, medication, and stress management.

In this article:

All of us have felt anxiety at one time or another, whether it be before a big test or public speaking. However, some people experience anxiety more than others. Disproportionate amounts of anxiety can sometimes be caused by an underlying issue—most commonly an anxiety disorder. The statistics in this article highlight the symptoms, causes, prevalence, and treatments of anxiety to help provide a better understanding of anxiety disorders and how they affect society. 

What is anxiety?

Simply put, anxiety is the body’s response to worry and fear. “However, [anxiety] is not that simple, as there is a wide range of how deeply anxiety affects people and to what extent it interferes with their quality of life,“ says Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a neuropsychologist in New York City and faculty member at Columbia University.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), there is a multitude of anxiety disorders that cause anxiety, worry, and stress due to social interactions, personal health, work, or a particular phobia. Types of anxiety disorders include:

  • Panic disorder
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Agoraphobia (the fear of places that might cause feelings of anxiety)
  • Specific phobias
  • Social anxiety disorder
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
  • Separation anxiety disorder

For many people with anxiety, their condition affects their ability to function in everyday life. The NIMH reports that for those with generalized anxiety disorder, symptoms can include restlessness, feeling on edge, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and muscle tension. Many anxiety disorders cause people to experience panic attacks, which are periods of intense fear triggered by an object or situation and can reach their peak within minutes. 

“Anxiety affects people in a range of ways, often depending on the nature of the anxiety,” says Jill Stoddard, Ph.D., a psychologist based in San Diego, California. She says that avoidance of the triggers of anxiety is common ground for all anxiety disorders.

“For example, people with panic disorder may stop exercising or having sex to avoid increases in negative physiological symptoms; people with agoraphobia may avoid malls, crowds, driving, or flying—any situation where they might have panic symptoms and not be able to escape or get help,” Dr. Stoddard says.

Generalized anxiety disorder

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common anxiety disorders, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). GAD is diagnosed after a person has anxiety, with little to provoke it, most days for at least six months. The persistent anxiety begins to affect a person’s social, work, and home life. 

According to the NIMH, the symptoms of GAD may include:

  • Feeling restless or on edge
  • Feeling fatigued often
  • Difficulty focusing
  • Irritability
  • Excessive feelings of worry that are difficult to control
  • Difficulty sleeping

Panic disorder

Panic disorders are characterized by unexpected and repeated panic attacks, according to the NIMH. People with panic attacks may try to avoid situations or constantly worry about when the next panic attack may happen. 

Panic attacks cause a combination of mental and physical symptoms. Per the NIMH, symptoms of panic attacks include:

  • Sudden, overwhelming anxiety or fear
  • Feeling a loss of control
  • Heart palpitations or increased heart rate 
  • Sweating or chills
  • Shaking or trembling
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sense of terror
  • Chest pain
  • Stomach pain or nausea

According to Merck Manuals, a medical reference guide, phobia-related disorders involve a fear or apprehensiveness about specific objects or situations. While some of these objects or situations may have reason to cause fear, the fear felt by the individual with a phobia is disproportionate to the actual danger posed. 

Phobias can be related to a variety of objects or situations, including:

  • Fear of flying
  • Fear of heights
  • Fear of spiders
  • Fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia)

Agoraphobia

Merck Manuals describes agoraphobia as anxiety or fear about being in a situation or place with no easy escape or no immediate access to help.

Agoraphobia and panic disorder often occur together, according to the Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), a program under the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Per MIRECC, an agoraphobia diagnosis requires that a person has experienced severe fear or anxiety for at least six months in at least two of the following situations:

  • Using public transportation
  • Being in open spaces (e.g., parks, bridges, or fields)
  • Being in enclosed spaces (e.g., theaters, stores, or restaurants)
  • Being in a crowd or standing in line
  • Being outside of the house unaccompanied

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder, previously known as a social phobia, is intense anxiety about being judged or rejected in social situations. It is often tied to specific performance settings, according to Merck Manuals. People with social anxiety disorder might realize their worry is unreasonable but still feel powerless and panicky in social situations. 

Other forms of anxiety

Two other common disorders have anxiety as one of the key symptoms but are no longer classified as anxiety disorders in the DSM-5, which is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States. They are OCD and PTSD.

OCD is a disorder where individuals have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas, or sensations (obsessions), the urge to do something repetitively (compulsions), or both. Intrusive thoughts or impulses may frequently recur, causing feelings of anxiety. 

Examples of OCD behaviors include: 

  • Checking objects (such as locks, ovens, and lights) repeatedly to reduce the fear of harm 
  • Repeating a name, phrase, or behavior because the individual fears something terrible will happen if they don’t
  • Cleaning compulsions, which may occur because there is a fear of contamination from things like dirt and germs 
  • Ordering and arranging things in a certain way to reduce discomfort

PTSD happens when a person has difficulty recovering after a traumatic event. Symptoms may happen months or longer after the event. There is a wide variety of PTSD symptoms, some of which include:

  • Unwanted and recurrent distressing memories or flashbacks of the event
  • Nightmares about the event
  • Avoidance of things related to the event, such as people, places, or situations
  • Emotional distress and physical reactivity after traumatic reminders (often called triggers)

Anxiety vs. depression

It is important to note that there is a difference between anxiety and depression. In a very basic sense, anxiety is an excessive feeling of worry, whereas depression is an excessive feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness. Someone can have both anxiety and depression at the same time.

How common is anxiety?

Worldwide anxiety statistics

  • An estimated 301 million people around the world had anxiety in 2019. (World Health Organization, 2023)
  • The prevalence of anxiety disorders increased from 3.7% to 4.4% worldwide between 1990 and 2021. (Our World in Data, 2024)
  • Women are 1.6 times more likely to be affected by anxiety disorders than men. (Middle East Current Psychiatry, 2021)
  • In 2021, Portugal had the highest anxiety disorder prevalence worldwide, at an estimated 9.7% of the population. (Our World in Data, 2024)
  • In 2021, it is estimated that Mongolia and Uzbekistan had the lowest rates of anxiety disorder worldwide, affecting approximately 2.3% of their populations. (Our World in Data, 2024)

Anxiety statistics in the United States

The following statistics are specific to adults in the United States:

  • Anxiety is the most common mental disorder in the United States, affecting 40 million adults. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022)
  • In 2019, about 6% of American adults reported experiencing moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety within the preceding two weeks. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)
  • In 2022, about 18% of American adults reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety within the preceding two weeks. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)
  • About 19 million adults experience specific phobias. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022)
  • About 15 million adults have social anxiety disorder. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022)
  • About 7.7 million adults have PTSD. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022)
  • About 6.8 million adults have generalized anxiety disorder. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022)
  • About 6 million adults have panic disorders. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2022)

Anxiety statistics by sex

The prevalence of anxiety is different between males and females. The following statistics are specific to people in the United States:

  • During 2022, 21.4% of women and 14.8% of men reported experiencing anxiety symptoms in the past 2 weeks. 
  • During 2022, 13.1% of women and 9.7% of men reported mild anxiety symptoms in the past 2 weeks.
  • During 2022, 4.7% of women and 3.1% of men reported moderate anxiety symptoms in the past 2 weeks.
  • During 2022, 3.6% of women and 2% of men reported severe anxiety symptoms in the past 2 weeks.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

Anxiety statistics by age

Anxiety prevalence varies by age as well. The following statistics are specific to people in the United States:

  • From 2021–2022, 10% of children ages 3–17 years were diagnosed with anxiety. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)
  • In 2022, 26.6% of Americans ages 18–29 years reported experiencing anxiety symptoms in the preceding two weeks, making this the adult age group most affected by anxiety. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)
  • In 2022, 11.2% of adults ages 65 years and older reported anxiety symptoms in the last 2 weeks—the lowest prevalence of any age group. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

Anxiety statistics by education level

Americans with higher education are less likely to have an anxiety disorder. Consider the following statistics:

  • In 2022, anxiety affected 20.4% of adults who had less than a high school diploma, 19.3% who had graduated high school or had a GED, 19.5% who had completed some college or had an associate’s degree, and 15.4% who had a bachelor’s degree or higher. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)
  • Anxiety is the highest concern for counseling services in colleges worldwide. In the 2020–2021 school year, 60.8% of the college students receiving counseling services were seen for anxiety. (Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, 2021)

Causes of anxiety

There are a variety of factors that may contribute to anxiety.

Medical causes

Certain medical conditions, such as hormone imbalance, nutritional deficiency, and Lyme disease, can sometimes cause anxiety, according to Cleveland Clinic. In other cases, underlying medical conditions can seem to exacerbate anxiety if a person becomes fixated on new or changing symptoms. 

Physical health issues with links to anxiety include the following, according to Mayo Clinic:

  • Thyroid disorders like hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Respiratory disorders, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, or asthma
  • Chronic pain or chronic conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease
  • In rare cases, tumors that produce hormones

RELATED: Does anxiety cause IBS?

Risk factors for anxiety

Anxiety risk factors vary based on the type of anxiety disorder. The NIMH reports that, in general, people with exposure to stressful or traumatic events, a family history of mental disorders, or childhood shyness or nervousness might have an increased risk of anxiety disorders.

Other potential risk factors include the following:

  • Stress buildup: Unmanaged stress may be due to a health condition, sleep disorders, or life situations, such as work, school, financial troubles, relationship issues, or the death of a loved one. In SingleCare’s 2020 anxiety survey, nearly half (48%) of survey takers reported that stress at home was the cause of their anxiety. Another 30% reported workplace stress caused anxiety.
  • Low self-esteem: Particularly in young people, low self-esteem can lead to or indicate anxiety.
  • Other mental health disorders: Major depressive disorder often co-occurs with anxiety, according to the CDC.
  • Substance abuse: Drug or alcohol use can sometimes increase or worsen anxiety.

Treating anxiety

“Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment,” Dr. Hafeez says, citing a statistic from the Children’s Health Council. According to the NIMH, anxiety can be treated with psychotherapy, medication, support groups, stress management techniques, or a combination of these.

Therapy

Therapy, sometimes known as psychotherapy or counseling, can take various forms. It may be individual or group-based and given online, over the phone, or in person. 

“One of the best treatment methods for anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviors,” Dr. Hafeez explains.

CBT is not a quick fix for anxiety. It’s important to work with a licensed therapist to determine the required length of treatment and then attend all scheduled sessions. 

Medications

Medication is another way to help relieve anxiety symptoms. The NIMH lists three main drug categories that a healthcare provider may prescribe to treat anxiety. 

Stress management treatments

Sometimes called complementary and alternative medications (CAM), non-pharmaceutical strategies and treatments have been found helpful in alleviating some anxiety symptoms. 

A stress management plan may include:

  • Acupuncture
  • Meditation
  • Exercise (especially yoga)
  • Relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing
  • Modifying diet by decreasing the intake of sugar, alcohol, and caffeine

Support for anxiety and suicide

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 2022, 49,476 Americans died by suicide, and there were an estimated 1.6 million suicide attempts. The relationship between anxiety and suicide has been studied for years, but results seem inconclusive. One study suggests that anxiety disorders are statistically significant but weak predictors of suicide ideation and attempts. Another study found that having a personality disorder with panic disorder or PTSD is strongly associated with suicide attempts. A third study found links between social anxiety and suicidality in adolescents, but researchers also reported that findings are “limited by the small number of studies of mixed quality.”

Regardless, anyone seeking support for anxiety or suicidal thoughts can contact the Suicide Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also find resources on the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) website.

Anxiety questions and answers

What percentage of the world has anxiety?

According to Our World in Data, approximately 4.4% of the global population has anxiety. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that an estimated 301 million people experienced anxiety in 2019. 

What races or ethnicities are more prone to anxiety disorders?

Data from the CDC indicates that non-Hispanic white adults are more likely than Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, or non-Hispanic Asian adults to experience symptoms of anxiety. 

How many people have anxiety in the United States?

Anxiety is the most common mental disorder, affecting 40 million adults in the United States, according to NAMI. According to the CDC, about 10% of adolescents ages 3–17 years have anxiety.

Who is mostly affected by anxiety?

Women are more likely to be affected by anxiety than men, and adults ages 18–29 years are most affected by it compared to other age groups. In general, people with a history of trauma, co-occurring mental health disorders, or a family history of anxiety also have an increased risk of developing anxiety.

What age does anxiety affect the most?

People ages 18 to 29 years are most affected by anxiety, according to the CDC. 

What percentage of students have anxiety?

In the 2020–2021 school year, 60.8% of college students who received counseling services were seen for anxiety, according to the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors. 

Why is anxiety so common now?

There is no one answer to why anxiety is more common now, but WHO data shows that the prevalence of anxiety disorders increased from 3.7% to 4.4% worldwide between 1990 and 2021. The 2024 results of the American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll found that anxiety contributors among American adults include current events, gun violence, stress, and poor sleep.

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