{"id":3046,"date":"2022-02-07T08:22:34","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T07:22:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/?page_id=3046"},"modified":"2025-12-18T15:13:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:13:54","slug":"schizophrenia-statistics-how-many-people-have-schizophrenia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/schizophrenia-statistics-how-many-people-have-schizophrenia\/","title":{"rendered":"Schizophrenia statistics: How many people have schizophrenia?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-inpage-nav-rea-inpage-nav-block rea-inpage-nav-block front has-margin\"><div class=\"rea-inpage-nav-block__image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/wooden.png)\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"inpage-nav-background\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/wooden.png\"><\/div><div class=\"rea-inpage-nav-block__content\"><div class=\"rea-inpage-nav-block__content--wrapper\"><div class=\"text-wrapper\"><h2 class=\"inpage-nav-title\">Schizophrenia statistics: How many people have schizophrenia?<\/h2><ul class=\"inpage-nav-list\"><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"section-nav\"><h4 class=\"section-nav--title\">In this section<\/h4><div class=\"section-nav--nav-items js-inpage-nav-items\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-illustration-rea-illustration-block rea-illustration-block front\"><img class=\"illustration-bg\" alt=\"\"><div class=\"rea-illustration-block__content\"><div class=\"rea-illustration-block__image image-wrapper\"><a href=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"is-blocked\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"illustration left\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Schizophrenia.life_Public_Article_Epidemiology-immagine-scaled.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 72%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rea-mobile illustration-mobile\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Schizophrenia.life_Public_Article_Epidemiology-immagine-scaled.jpg\"><\/a><\/div><p class=\"rea-site__caption caption-text align-left\"><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-paragraph-rea-paragraph-block rea-paragraph-block front\"><div class=\"rea-paragraph-block__content\"><p class=\"content-text\">According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are at least 20 million people living with schizophrenia worldwide.<sup>1\u00a0<\/sup>That\u2019s 20 million people who may need additional <a href=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/advice-and-support\/how-to-help\/\">help and support<\/a>\u00a0to live their normal lives, whether that\u2019s being able to get up and go to school or work every day, or just be able to spend quality time with their family and friends or interact other people.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>This article covers the epidemiology of schizophrenia and presents some statistics on the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia. It also looks at the significant impact that schizophrenia has on all aspects of people\u2019s lives. \u00a0<br>Internal page link to https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/advice-and-support\/how-to-help\/<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-separator-rea-separator-block rea-separator-block front\"><div class=\"rea-separator-block__content\"><hr class=\"rea-separator-block__separator\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-title-rea-title-block rea-title-block front\"><div class=\"rea-title-block__content\"><h3 id=\"stronghow-common-is-schizophreniastrong\" class=\"content-title \"><strong>How common is schizophrenia?<\/strong><\/h3><h4 class=\"content-subtitle rea-hidden\"><\/h4><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-paragraph-rea-paragraph-block rea-paragraph-block front\"><div class=\"rea-paragraph-block__content\"><p class=\"content-text\">When trying to determine exactly how many people have schizophrenia there is no simple answer. It depends on which study you look at and how the study was set up and run.<sup>2<\/sup> It also depends on how a <a href=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/diagnosis-treatment\/diagnosis\/\">diagnosis of schizophrenia<\/a> was defined, particularly since the <a href=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/understanding-schizophrenia\/main-symptoms\/\">symptoms of schizophrenia<\/a> can sometimes overlap with other mental health conditions.<sup>2<\/sup><br>\u00a0<br>The number of people affected by schizophrenia can be expressed in terms of its prevalence or its incidence and given as a percentage or number of the population affected.<br><br><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-list-rea-list-block rea-list-block front\"><div class=\"rea-list-block__wrapper\"><div class=\"list-ordered list\"><p><strong>Prevalence of schizophrenia<\/strong><br>This refers to the total number of people who have schizophrenia in a population.<\/p><p><strong>Incidence of schizophrenia<\/strong><br>The refers to the number of people who receive a new diagnosis of schizophrenia.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-paragraph-rea-paragraph-block rea-paragraph-block front\"><div class=\"rea-paragraph-block__content\"><p class=\"content-text\">Taking the prevalence of schizophrenia first, it\u2019s been reported that somewhere between 0.3% and 0.9% of the global population are living with schizophrenia or a psychotic disorder<sup>2,3<\/sup> and that schizophrenia will affect around 1% of the global population at some point in peoples lives.<sup>3<\/sup><br>\u00a0<br>Looking at the incidence of schizophrenia, it\u2019s been estimated that the average is around 15 people in every 100,000 of the population.<sup>4<\/sup> That\u2019s according to a systematic review of multiple studies, but within this the incidence of schizophrenia was estimated to range from around seven in 100,000 up to 43 in 100,000 people.<sup>5<\/sup><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-separator-rea-separator-block rea-separator-block front\"><div class=\"rea-separator-block__content\"><hr class=\"rea-separator-block__separator\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-title-rea-title-block rea-title-block front\"><div class=\"rea-title-block__content\"><h3 id=\"strongwhats-the-impact-of-schizophreniastrong\" class=\"content-title \"><strong>What\u2019s the impact of schizophrenia?<\/strong><\/h3><h4 class=\"content-subtitle rea-hidden\"><\/h4><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-paragraph-rea-paragraph-block rea-paragraph-block front\"><div class=\"rea-paragraph-block__content\"><p class=\"content-text\">The prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia is lower than for some other diseases, including other important mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.<sup>6\u00a0<\/sup>However, schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder<sup>1<\/sup> that can result in considerable disability even when managed appropriately so it is no less important.<sup>\u00a06<\/sup> Indeed, schizophrenia can affect people\u2019s ability to look after themselves, function socially, complete their education, and gain and keep employment.<br>\u00a0<br>More importantly, having schizophrenia has been reported to shorten people\u2019s life expectancy by around 15\u201320 years<sup>7,8<\/sup> and that people with schizophrenia are two to three times more likely to die at an earlier age than people in the general population.<sup>1\u00a0<\/sup><br>\u00a0<br>Reasons for this shortened life expectancy could be due to a higher rate of suicide compared to the general population, particularly in the early stages of the illness.<sup>2,7\u00a0<\/sup>Unhealthy behaviors such as smoking or substance use, and coexisting conditions, such as heart disease, liver disease or diabetes, may also be contributing.<sup>4\u00a0<\/sup>This makes it all the more important to not only manage schizophrenia early in the course of the illness, but also to tackle any behaviors or other conditions that may reduce a person\u2019s risk of premature death.\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-separator-rea-separator-block rea-separator-block front\"><div class=\"rea-separator-block__content\"><hr class=\"rea-separator-block__separator\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-title-rea-title-block rea-title-block front\"><div class=\"rea-title-block__content\"><h3 id=\"strongmeasuring-the-global-impact-of-schizophreniastrong\" class=\"content-title \"><strong>Measuring the global impact of schizophrenia<\/strong><\/h3><h4 class=\"content-subtitle rea-hidden\"><\/h4><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-paragraph-rea-paragraph-block rea-paragraph-block front\"><div class=\"rea-paragraph-block__content\"><p class=\"content-text\">One of the ways that the impact an illness has on people and society generally is to measure the so-called \u2018burden of disease\u2019 using a measure called \u2018disability-adjusted life years\u2019 or DALYs. Essentially one DALY represents 1 year of healthy life that is lost because of an illness; this can be because of premature death, disease or disability caused by the illness.<sup>9<\/sup><br>\u00a0<br>For the past 30 years, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthdata.org\/gbd\/2019\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Global Burden of Disease Project<\/a>\u00a0has been gathering statistics on the burden of various disease. In one of the recent reports from this study on mental health disorders, it\u2019s noted that although schizophrenia affects a smaller proportion of the world\u2019s population, the disability due to\u00a0acute psychosis was the highest across the whole study. <sup>6<\/sup><br>\u00a0<br>Not only that but also schizophrenia was third in the list of 10 mental health condition contributing the highest percentage of DALYs, being topped only by depression and anxiety.<sup>6\u00a0<\/sup><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-separator-rea-separator-block rea-separator-block front\"><div class=\"rea-separator-block__content\"><hr class=\"rea-separator-block__separator\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-title-rea-title-block rea-title-block front\"><div class=\"rea-title-block__content\"><h3 id=\"strongreducing-the-impact-of-schizophreniastrong\" class=\"content-title \"><strong>Reducing the impact of schizophrenia<\/strong><\/h3><h4 class=\"content-subtitle rea-hidden\"><\/h4><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-paragraph-rea-paragraph-block rea-paragraph-block front\"><div class=\"rea-paragraph-block__content\"><p class=\"content-text\">Given the significant impact of schizophrenia on people\u2019s lives, early diagnosis and treatment is key to helping them recover and get back to a normal rhythm of life. You can learn more about the <a href=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/diagnosis-treatment\/diagnosis\/\">diagnosis of schizophrenia<\/a> and interventions used to improve people\u2019s\u00a0functioning\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/therapeutic-objectives\/functioning\/\">here<\/a>.<br>Internal page link<br><a href=\"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/diagnosis-treatment\/diagnosis\/\" class=\"rank-math-link\"> https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/diagnosis-treatment\/diagnosis\/<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-references-rea-references-block rea-references-block front\"><div class=\"rea-references-block__references\"><p class=\"references-title\">References<\/p><ol class=\"references-list\"><li>World Health Organization (WHO).\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/schizophrenia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Schizophrenia<\/a>. Geneva: WHO, October 2019.<\/li><li>National Institute of Mental Health (NIH),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nimh.nih.gov\/health\/statistics\/schizophrenia#part_2543\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Schizophrenia<\/a>. Bethesda: NIH. Accessed November 2021.\u00a0<\/li><li>Stilo SA, Murray RM.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.31887\/dcns.2010.12.3\/sstilo\" class=\"rank-math-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The epidemiology of schizophrenia: replacing dogma with knowledge<\/a>. <em>Dialogues Clin Neurosci.<\/em>2010;12(3):305\u201315.<\/li><li>McGrath J, Saha S, Chant D, Welham J.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/epirev\/mxn001\" class=\"rank-math-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Schizophrenia: A concise overview of incidence, prevalence, and mortality<\/a>. <em>Epidemiol Rev.\u00a0<\/em>2008;30:67\u201376.<\/li><li>Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D<em>.<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/pmc4159061\/\" class=\"rank-math-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Schizophrenia: Overview and treatment options<\/a>. <em>P T<\/em>. 2014;39(9):638\u201345.<\/li><li>GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthdata.org\/research-article\/global-regional-and-national-burden-12-mental-disorders-204-countries-and\" class=\"rank-math-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Global, regional, and national burden of 12 mental disorders in 204 countries and territories, 1990\u20132019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019<\/a>. <em>Lancet Psychiatry.\u00a0<\/em>2021 (In Press).<\/li><li>Laursen TM, Nordentoft M, Mortensen PB.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev-clinpsy-032813-153657\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Excess early mortality in schizophrenia<\/a>. <em>Annu Rev Clin Psychol.<\/em> 2014;<strong>10<\/strong>, 425\u201348.<\/li><li>Laursen TM, Whalbeck K, H\u00e4llgren J, <em>et al.<\/em>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0067133\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Life expectancy and death by diseases of the circulatory system in patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia in the Nordic countries<\/a>. <em>PLoS ONE<\/em>. 2103;8(6):e67133.<\/li><li>Roser M, Richie H.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/burden-of-disease#the-global-distribution-of-the-disease-burden\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Burden of Disease<\/a>. 2016. Published online at OurWorldInData.org.<\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rea-title-rea-title-block rea-title-block front rea-share-block\" style=\"margin-bottom:30px;text-align:center;\">\n\t\t<div class=\"\">\n\t\t\t<span style=\"display:block;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:20px;\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046\" class=\"facebook-share\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&#038;url=https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046\" class=\"linkedin-share\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-fullwidth.php","meta":{"rea_page_title_signed_in_meta_block_field":"Schizophrenia statistics: How many people have schizophrenia?","rea_page_title_signed_out_meta_block_field":"Schizophrenia statistics: How many people have schizophrenia?","rea_page_description_signed_in_meta_block_field":"Find out about the epidemiology of schizophrenia, with statistics on prevalence of schizophrenia and the global disease burden according to the WHO.","rea_page_description_signed_out_meta_block_field":"Find out about the epidemiology of schizophrenia, with statistics on prevalence of schizophrenia and the global disease burden according to the WHO.","rea_page_footer_id_meta_block_field":"","rea_page_footer_date_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3046","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3046"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5063,"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3046\/revisions\/5063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtasean.com\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}