More than 300m people suffer depression globally in 2015: WHO

GENEVA - More than 300 million people across the globe were living with depression in 2015, over four percent of the global population, according to new global health estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Depression is the largest single contributor to global disability.

The global health estimates on depression and other common mental disorders provides details on the prevalence of depression and anxiety, and health problems as a result of these disorders, at both global and regional levels.

The number of people living with depression is increasing, with an increase of 18 percent between 2005 and 2015. This was as a result of the overall growth of the global population, as well as an increase in the number of people surviving to ages at which depression is more common.

Nearly half of people living with depression live in South-East Asia and the West Pacific.

WHO said low levels of recognition and access to care for depression and anxiety lead to an estimated global economic loss of a trillion U.S. dollars every year.

WHO launched a one-year campaign on depression on World Mental Health Day, Oct 10, 2016. The overall goal of the campaign is to help more people with depression seek and get help.