Europe: youth depression pre- & during COVID-19, by country

During the COVID-19 pandemic, depression symptoms among young people more than doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels in various European countries. Nordic nations, including Norway, Sweden, and Iceland, had the highest rates of young individuals with depression symptoms throughout the pandemic, reaching 42.5, 38.5, and 37 percent, respectively. This statistic depicts the share of young people with symptoms of depression in selected European countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Share of young people with symptoms of depression in selected European countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Characteristic	Pre-pandemic (2019 or nearest year)	Pandemic (March 2020 to August 2021)
-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-
-	-	-

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Release date

December 2022

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Region

Belgium, Europe, Denmark, Estonia, France, Iceland, Norway, Sweden

Survey time period

2019 to August 2021

Age group

18-29 years*

Special properties

Pre-pademic (2019 or nearest); Pandemic (April 2020 to August 2021)

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

*The share of "young people" refers to individuals aged 18-29 in most countries, with France using data for those aged 18-24. Pre-pandemic figures involve individuals aged 15-24 across all countries except Belgium, which considers those aged 18-29.

Prevalence estimates during the pandemic are pooled averages from national surveys up to 12 August 2021. Limited cross-country comparability arises due to variations in survey numbers and timings. Depression symptoms are assessed through PHQ-8 or PHQ-9, except in France and Estonia, where HADS-D is used, yielding lower estimates. Different scoring methods for pre-pandemic and pandemic data may potentially underestimate symptom increases.

The PHQ-9 is a questionnaire with nine questions that inquire about the frequency of various negative symptoms experienced by respondents over the previous two weeks. PHQ-8 is the same but without questions concerning suicidal thoughts.

The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) consists of 14 questions, with the initial seven addressing anxiety (HADSA) and the subsequent seven targeting depression (HADS-D).

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