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Depressive disorder (also known as depression) is a common mental disorder. It involves a depressed mood or loss of pleasure or interest in activities for long periods of time.

Depression is different from regular mood changes and feelings about everyday life. It can affect all aspects of life, including relationships with family, friends and community. It can result from or lead to problems at school and at work.

Depression can happen to anyone. People who have lived through abuse, severe losses or other stressful events are more likely to develop depression. Women are more likely to have depression than men.

An estimated 4% of the population experience depression, including 5.7% of adults (4.6% among men and 6.9% among women), and 5.9% of adults aged 70 years and older. Approximately 332 million people in the world have depression (1). Depression is about 1.5 times more common among women than among men. Worldwide, more than 10% of pregnant women and women who have just given birth experience depression (2). In 2021, an estimated 727 000 people lost their lives to suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15–29-year-olds.

In high-income countries, only about one third of people with depression receive mental health treatment (3).

Barriers to effective care include a lack of investment in mental health care, lack of trained health-care providers and social stigma associated with mental disorders.