Statistics
HOPE FOOL PROJECTS · RESEARCH & AWARENESS
Statistics: People behind the numbers
Understanding mental health, trauma, neurodivergence, substance use, and military experiences—one carefully sourced statistic at a time.
Start here: U.S. statistics appear first, followed by worldwide estimates. Historical graphs only cover years with comparable data. Counts of recorded deaths are not the same as survey estimates. Charts are informational and do not diagnose individuals.
United States
Suicide deaths · 2001–2024
How to read this: Each point represents the number of recorded U.S. suicide deaths in that year. Counts show scale; population-adjusted rates are needed to compare risk over time.
48,824 recorded deaths in 2024. 14.3 million adults estimated to have seriously considered suicide in 2024; 2.2 million estimated to have attempted it. These are separate measures.
Start: 30,622 deaths · End: 48,824 deaths. Hover dots for yearly values.
In 2024, 38,977 recorded deaths were among males and 9,847 among females (death certificate sex categories). Age-adjusted rate: 13.7 per 100,000. CDC suicide data; CDC age/sex analysis.
Drug overdose deaths · 2014–2024
How to read this: The line shows recorded deaths each year, not the number of people who use drugs. Substances may overlap in a single death.
79,384 recorded overdose deaths in 2024. Categories of substances involved can overlap and must never be summed.
Start: 47,055 deaths · End: 79,384 deaths. Hover dots for yearly values.
2024: any opioid 54,045; synthetic opioids excluding methadone 47,735; heroin 2,743. CDC overdose deaths. Cannabis is omitted from substance-specific examples, not removed from the national total.
Depression, anxiety, PTSD & other mental health conditions
2024 U.S. adults: 14.6 million estimated to have serious mental illness; 21.4 million estimated to have experienced a major depressive episode. PTSD: approximately 13 million adults in 2020, from a different source and year. Anxiety estimates depend on whether a study measures symptoms or diagnosed disorders.
Why no continuous 25-year line? Survey questions, definitions and methods have changed. Connecting incompatible measures would suggest a trend that the data cannot establish. SAMHSA 2024 NSDUH · VA PTSD estimates.
Trauma exposure & PTSD
Trauma exposure is common, but experiencing a potentially traumatic event does not mean someone will develop PTSD. U.S. lifetime exposure estimates vary widely by event definition and survey. A single nationwide 2000–2024 annual count is not available from one comparable series. VA National Center for PTSD.
Neurodivergence · ADHD, autism & learning differences
15.5 million U.S. adults reported a current ADHD diagnosis in 2023 (CDC survey estimate). 7 million U.S. children ages 3–17 had ever received an ADHD diagnosis in 2022 (CDC estimate; check survey year before comparison). These groups and measures differ. Neurodivergence is an umbrella term, not a diagnosis.
Autism identified in surveillance, 2000–2022
How to read this: These are percentages of 8-year-old children identified in participating surveillance communities—not counts of all autistic Americans. Changes may reflect identification and reporting.
Start: 0.67% of 8-year-olds · End: 3.22% of 8-year-olds. Hover dots for yearly values.
2022: approximately 1 in 31 eight-year-old children identified with autism in participating CDC communities. Changing identification practices and surveillance sites limit trend interpretation. CDC autism data · CDC ADHD data. National 25-year comparable counts for dyslexia, Tourette syndrome and intellectual disability are not available in a unified dataset.
Military service members & veterans
Veterans and currently serving personnel are distinct populations. Age, service era and exposure history also differ. Suicide, PTSD, depression, traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma deserve separate comparisons, but their data cannot be merged into one population trend. Age-specific 25-year charts remain unavailable in this edition rather than filled with inferred values.
VA veteran suicide reports · DoD suicide surveillance · VA National Center for PTSD.
Alcohol-related harm & substance use disorders
Alcohol-induced deaths are a narrower measure than all deaths attributable to alcohol. Alcohol use disorder prevalence comes from population surveys. We do not combine these measures or add them to overdose totals. Historical comparability and specific year-by-year counts are being assessed.
Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) · U.S. survey findings
Animals can provide companionship and emotional support. But national ESA ownership counts and a consistent 25-year historical series are not available from an authoritative U.S. population registry. The following figures are survey findings, not national population estimates.
24% of 1,000 U.S. pet owners surveyed in 2025 reported currently having an emotional support animal. This is a survey of pet owners, not all Americans, and should not be extrapolated to the total U.S. population.
42% of surveyed pet owners reported turning to pets for emotional support because they could not afford therapy or mental health care. This measures emotional support from pets, not necessarily formal ESA status.
In a separate May 2024 survey of 419 U.S. pet and service-animal owners, 41% reported that housing considerations were a factor in having a pet declared an ESA. This percentage applies only to the surveyed group, not the general population. Source: Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative, 2025 report.
Important definitions
Under U.S. ADA public-access rules, an ESA is not a task-trained service animal. HUD recognizes certain assistance animals, including those providing disability-related emotional support, for reasonable housing accommodations. No federal ESA certification or registration is required for Fair Housing Act protection; paid online registries should not be interpreted as a nationwide count. Sources: U.S. Department of Justice ADA FAQ and HUD assistance-animal guidance.
Data gaps: No verified annual 2000–2024 ESA ownership trend, nationwide age-group breakdown, or internationally comparable ESA count is presented here. Survey results cannot establish whether ESA ownership is increasing or whether ESAs cause improvements in mental health.
AI, emotional support & access to mental healthcare
Some people use AI chatbots for emotional support, coping information, or help between appointments. These are self-reported experiences, not evidence that a chatbot provides professional therapy or can replace a licensed clinician.
of U.S. adults said they use AI chatbots for emotional support or advice in a February 2026 Pew survey of 5,119 adults.
of U.S. youth ages 12–21 reported using AI chatbots for mental health advice in a 2025 nationally representative survey (n=1,009).
of those youth who used AI for mental health advice rated it somewhat or very helpful. This does not establish clinical effectiveness.
Why some people turn to AI
Among 276 respondents using AI for mental health in a 2026 cross-sectional study, 70.3% cited 24/7 availability, 51.8% feeling supported, and 33% free or lower-cost access compared with professional services. Respondents could select multiple reasons; these percentages are not nationally representative.
Available any time · 70.3%
Feeling supported · 51.8%
Free or cheaper · 33%
Benefits, concerns & limitations
In a separate 2026 Pew survey, more U.S. adults believed AI chatbots do more harm than good for people seeking support with loneliness (39% harm vs. 19% help) and depression (36% vs. 17%). These are public opinions, not measured clinical outcomes. AI may offer convenient information or reflection, but can also make mistakes, reinforce harmful ideas, mishandle sensitive information or fail to respond appropriately to a crisis.
Not therapy: General-purpose AI chatbots are not licensed mental health professionals. Do not rely on them for diagnosis, crisis intervention or as a replacement for qualified care. In immediate danger, contact emergency services; in the U.S., call or text 988.
Sources: Pew Research Center (2026) · JAMA Pediatrics youth study (2026 publication; 2025 survey) · JMIR Mental Health (2026) · Pew Research Center (August 2026).
Historical limitation: A comparable annual 2000–2024 series for AI-based emotional support does not exist. These are recent survey snapshots, not a 25-year trend.
IDENTITY, AGE & ACCESS TO CARE
LGBTQ+ mental health & access to support
Compare within groups: Each teal bar shows the percentage of respondents in that group reporting the outcome. Groups differ in size and may overlap; the bars are not counts of people.
In The Trevor Project's 2024 U.S. survey of 18,663 LGBTQ+ young people ages 13–24 (surveyed September–December 2023), 84% wanted mental healthcare and 50% of those who wanted it were unable to get it. This is a recruited, nonprobability LGBTQ+ youth sample, not a nationally representative estimate.
Past-year suicide attempt reported by age
Past-year suicide attempt reported by gender identity
Past-year suicide attempt reported by race / ethnicity
These groups can overlap and percentages are within each survey subgroup, not shares of all attempts. Racial and ethnic labels follow the study's reporting. Differences must not be attributed to identity itself; discrimination, safety, social support and access to affirming care are relevant contextual factors.
Sexual orientation: reported attempts in the past year
Among respondents, 39% seriously considered suicide in the past year; 12% reported an attempt. These measures are not counts of suicide deaths.
Source and methods: The Trevor Project, 2024 National Survey · Full report and sampling methodology.
WHO RECEIVES CARE?
Age, race & mental healthcare access
2024 U.S. adult mental illness by age: SAMHSA's nationally representative National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates the percentage experiencing any mental illness in the past year:
For serious mental illness in 2024, estimates were 9.4% (18–25), 7.5% (26–49), and 2.8% (50+). These are estimated prevalence rates, not treatment-access rates. Age-group population sizes differ.
Race, ethnicity & access: Treatment use, insurance coverage, affordability, transportation, language access, provider availability and culturally responsive care should be evaluated separately. Race-specific national treatment-access percentages are not shown here until extracted from comparable SAMHSA tables; no unsupported rankings are implied. Differences in care access should not be interpreted as innate differences between racial groups.
Sources: SAMHSA 2024 NSDUH annual national report · Detailed age and race/ethnicity tables.
Historical limitation: These are 2024 snapshots, not a comparable 25-year trend. Future chronological views will use matched definitions and survey years.
2024 · U.S. ADULTS WITH ANY MENTAL ILLNESS
Who received mental health treatment?
Compare within groups: Longer teal bars mean a higher share of adults with any mental illness reported receiving treatment—not necessarily better availability or affordability.
Percentage of adults with any mental illness who received mental health treatment in the past year, by race or ethnicity. These are treatment receipt rates among people with any mental illness, not rates for all adults.
By race / ethnicity
Overall: 52.1%. Estimates for American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults are not charted because of low statistical precision in the source. Race and ethnicity categories are those used by SAMHSA.
By age
These percentages are treatment received, not unmet need, affordability or provider availability. Mental health treatment includes medication, counseling, inpatient, outpatient and telehealth services. The survey does not establish why disparities exist.
Source: SAMHSA 2024 NSDUH population statistics report · SAMHSA 2024 annual national report.
Around the world
Global mental health · 2023
Estimated people living with a mental disorder
Estimated people living with an anxiety disorder
Estimated suicide deaths
Global estimates reflect modeled evidence, with different reporting completeness across countries. They are not directly equivalent to U.S. registered mortality counts. WHO mental disorders · WHO suicide.
Regions, countries & missing information
Comparative charts by country will only appear when definitions, year, age coverage and data quality are known. Countries with incomplete reporting will be explicitly marked insufficient comparable data rather than represented by a zero. Estimates should not be mistaken for complete registration. WHO Global Health Observatory.
Sources, interpretation & limitations
Primary sources: CDC/NCHS, SAMHSA NSDUH, VA, DoD and WHO, linked within each section. A recorded death is not a survey estimate. Some people have multiple diagnoses, and multiple substances may contribute to one death. Death-certificate sex, gender identity and sexual orientation are distinct. Diagnostic criteria, awareness, access to evaluation, age distribution, survey design and population changes affect comparisons. Historical charts deliberately omit periods lacking comparable data. This is educational information, not medical advice. Data are subject to revision.
Last reviewed: November 2026. This is a first public edition; additional verified demographic and geographic breakdowns will be added as available.
Support is available
U.S.: call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Veterans: call 988 and press 1, or text 838255. Outside the U.S., contact your local crisis or emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, call local emergency services.