This is how much mental health costs in relation to GDP across Europe
Covid-19 pandemic has led to a spike in the number of people seeking support. Image: Ümit Bulut/Unsplash
- The pandemic has shone a harsh spotlight on the global mental health crisis.
- OECD data shows that Europe's mental health care has been neglected and underfunded within member states for years.
- The cost for treating mental health has been high in Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway.
As well as leading to greater awareness about mental health conditions, the global Covid-19 pandemic has also led to a spike in the number of people seeking support. Unfortunately, some countries are better placed to provide that support than others. Data published by the OECD shows that mental health care has been neglected and under funded within its member states for years.
When it comes to Europe in particular, mental health issues were having a massive indirect cost in terms of higher unemployment and lost productivity in 2015. Adding in mental health and social spending, the cost was highest in Denmark, equating to 5.4 percent of the country's GDP. The cost was also high in Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway at five percent of GDP or higher.
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
Stay up to date:
Future of Work
Related topics:
Forum Stories newsletter
Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.
More on Wellbeing and Mental HealthSee all
Chris Hardesty and Ruma Bhargawa
December 12, 2024
