A miniscule percentage of humans on Earth have not been affected in some way by the Covid-19 pandemic. The ways in which people’s lives have been altered are as diverse as the severity of the effects themselves. For some, there have even been positives to come out of the situation.
One negative impact which has been felt to similar degrees around the world though is that on our mental health. Latest estimates from the OECD show that increases in the prevalence of depression or its symptoms have been observed in all of the countries in its remit that have available data. The largest increase has been in Mexico which went from 3 percent of adults pre-pandemic to 28 percent in 2020. Sweden has the highest level of the countries with data pre- and post-pandemic start at 30 percent. South Korea however has an estimated share of 37 percent, although there are no data points for a pre-pandemic comparison.
This chart shows the estimated prevalence of (symptoms of) depression among adults before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
