Mental health is the world’s biggest health concern - Ipsos survey finds

Main points

• Mental health tops global health concerns
• Cancer ranks second at 38%
• Covid-19 concern has fallen sharply

Mental health has become the health issue people are most concerned about worldwide, overtaking cancer as worries about the Covid-19 pandemic continue to fade, according to Ipsos’ Health Service Report 2024.

Across the 31 countries surveyed, 45% of adults named mental health as one of the biggest health problems facing their country. Cancer followed at 38%, while 31% selected stress. Obesity was cited by 26% and drug abuse by 21%.

The findings mark a significant change from the pandemic years. In 2021, 70% identified coronavirus as a major health problem. By 2023, that had dropped to 15%, and in the 2024 survey only 11% mentioned Covid-19, placing it 10th among the 13 health issues measured.

Mental health has now ranked as the leading health concern for three consecutive years in the Ipsos survey. The share identifying it as a major problem rose from 31% in 2021 to 44% in 2023 and 45% in 2024.

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Concern is particularly high among younger women. 55% of Gen Z women identified mental health as a major health problem, compared with 37% of Gen Z men. Across all age groups, 51% of women selected mental health, 11 percentage points higher than men.

Older people see the picture differently. Cancer was the leading concern among Baby Boomers, with 46% identifying it as a major health problem. They were the only generation in the survey for whom mental health did not rank first.

Ipsos surveyed 23,667 adults across 31 countries between July 26 and August 9, 2024. The global country average gives each surveyed country equal weight rather than weighting results according to population size.