88 Stress Statistics Worldwide 2023

Stress is healthy when it inspires us to grow, pushes us to chase our goals and solves challenging problems.

Stress is unhealthy when it affects our sleep, heart rate, breathing and blood pressure.

There are various reasons for our stress, and depending on our thought process, there may not be any reason, but we will be stressed anyway.

Let’s explore the stress statistics worldwide in 2023 and understand what this generation is going through.

10 Most Stressed Nations In The World

Afghanistan (74%)
Lebanon (74%)
Turkey (64%)
Ecuador (62%)
Jordan (58%)
Greece (57%)
Tanzania (56%)
China (55%)
Iraq (53%)
Cyprus (53%)

Source: Atlasandbooths

10 Most Stressed Cities in the World

According to Willian-Rusell, a global insurance company, the top 10 stressed cities in the word are:

Cairo, Egypt (76.7%)
Delhi, India (69.6%)
Karachi, Pakistan (64.7%)
Mumbai, India (62.8%)
Baghdad, Iraq (60.8%)
Manila, Philippines (59.2%)
Kolkata, India (58.4%)
São Paulo, Brazil (58.1%)
Bangalore, India (56.9%)
Beijing, China (56.5%)

Stress Statistics Based on Age

According to American psychological Associations, 2020, younger generations are experiencing a higher level of stress, especially in America.

Gen Z: Age 11 – 26 ( born 1997-2012)

Millennials: Age 27 – 42 (born 1981-1996)

Gen X: Age 43 – 58 (born 1965-1980)

Baby Boomers: Age 59 – 77 (born 1946-1964)

Older Adults: Age 78 years and older (born before 1946)

Gen Z: (61%)
Millennials: (56%)
Gen X: (52%)
Baby Boomers: (40%)
Older Adults: (33%)

If we talk about India,

According to Rakuten Insight in India in May, 2022, 50 percent of respondents in the 24 to 34 age group stated that they were feeling more stressed or anxious during the past 12 months.
In the same survey 28 percent of respondents in the 16 to 24 age group stated that they experienced the same level of stress and anxiety as before.

Therefore, it is safer to conclude that today’s younger generation are experiencing a higher level of stress than before.

Stress Statistics According to Gender.

According to the report of American Psychological Association,

43% of women reported higher stress levels over the past 5 years compared to 33% of men.

Women continue to report higher stress levels than men (5.3 vs. 4.6 on a 10-point scale where 1 is “little or no stress” and 10 is “a great deal of stress”)

82% of women believe that stress impacts overall health compared with 75% of men.
46% of women are more likely to report that they lie awake at night because of stress compared to 38% of men.

According to Statista, In India,

85.8% male are stressed across India compared to 14.2% females in 2021.
51% of females stated feeling stressed or anxious over the past 12 months compared to 30% of male in 2022.

Causes of stress

1. Money

65% of Americans are stressed about money, American Psychological Association in 2020.
44% Indians are stressed about money, Northwestern Mutual, 2020 . The report also found that 56% reported high or moderate anxiety which is caused by stress and 20% has more debt than savings.
61% of employed adults state that money is the factor of stress, Perkbox.

2. Work

43% of workers worldwide felt stressed at work in 2020, State of the Global Workplace 2021 Report by Gallup.
78% of senior managers hit a new high level of stress in China in 2015, Stress and Burnout in China.
59% employees in India reported feeling stressed on a daily basis, Marsh India, 2021.
83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress, Zippia, 2023.

Also Read: The Grass is Greener Where You Water It: A Mindset Shift for Success in Career, Relationship and Health

3. Health

78% of Americans say the Coronavirus pandemic has a significant cause of their stress, Stress in America™ 2020.
77% of people’s health got affected due to stress, The American Institute of Stress.
48% of people are having sleep problems because of stress, The American Institute of Stress.
74% of deaths worldwide and 66% in India are due to Chronic disease, which is caused mainly by stress, Statista.

4. Social Discrimination

59%,the majority of adults, regardless of race, report police violence towards minorities is a major source of stress. Stress in America™ 2020.
44%; 2 out of 5 people of color in America report discrimination as a major source of stress, Stress in America™ 2020.
37.4% of black people and 44.8% of Asian people in England feel unsafe being at home or in their local area which causes stress in their life. Equality and Human rights Commission.
79.3% of Australians recognised that racism exists with Australia. 34.8% have experienced racism in public transport, 32.8% experienced racism in the workplace and 32.8% have experienced racism in educational institutions, Beyond Blue.

Side-Effects of Stress

According to WebMD,

43% of all adults suffer health effects from stress like heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, headaches, anxiety etc.
75% to 90% of all doctor’s office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

According to Mental Health Foundation,

46% in the UK reported that they ate too much or ate unhealthily due to stress.
29% in the UK started drinking or increased their drinking and 16% started smoking or increased their smoking.
51% felt depressed and 61% felt anxious due to stress.
32% had suicidal thoughts out of the people who felt stress in UK.

According to Singlecare,

77% of Americans report physical symptoms of stress like headaches, sleeping problems, high blood pressure, etc.
73% of Americans report psychological symptoms of stress like anxiety, depression etc.

Stress and Relationships Statistics

According to American Institute of Stress,

76% of US workers have a negative impact on their personal relationships due to the stress at their workplace.
70% of adults reported work stress has affected their personal relationships.
79% of men report work stress affects their personal relationship with their spouse compared to 61% for women.
36% of adults reported experiencing stress caused by a friend or loved one’s long-term health condition

The Cost of Stress

- Stress-related illnesses in the UK were estimated to cost the NHS over £11 billion, representing 6.2% of total health expenditure, cigna.
- Stress also accounted for a third of primary care expenditure (33%), at a cost of £1.8billion and £238 million to government and the private sector, cigna.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the percentage of medical claims associated with behavioral health (both mental illnesses and addictions) more than doubled in the US, rising from 3.7% to 7.5%, Mckinsey.
- Job stress causes US industries more than 300 billion a year in absenteeism, turnover, diminished productivity, and medical, legal, and insurance costs, Singlecare.
- The annual healthcare cost in the U.S due to Work-related stress costs $190 billion, Comparecamp.

Workplace Stress Statistics

43% of participants have reported stress in their work, which is up from 39% in 2019, weforum.
50% of workers or more are not engaged at work as a result of stress, leading to a loss of productivity, zippia.
39% of workers are stressed because of workload, 31% are stressed because of interpersonal issues, 19% are because of juggling work and personal life and 6% are because of Job security, zippia.
80% of workers are stressed because of a change of leadership.
65% of workers find it difficult to concentrate because of the work environment, zippia.

School Stress Statistic

According to Crossrivertherapy,

45% of students in high school are stressed everyday.
61% of teenagers between the age of 13-17 are stressed over producing satisfactory grades.
Around 500 students below the age of 20 commit suicide because of stress in Japan.

According to teenhelp,

30% of teens are sad or depressed as a result of stress.
23% skip meals because of stress.
31% teens say their stress increased over the past year.
68% of teens are stressed because of school work.

According to Research.com,

24% of students in the U.S are stressed about their future and finding a job after graduation.
75% of U.S. high school students expressed boredom, anger, sadness, fear, or stress while in school.
61% of students are stressed because of achieving good grades, 29% want to look good, 28% want to fit in socially, 21% want to be involved in extracurricular activities and 21 % are stressed because they want to be good at sports.

Coping Strategies Statistics

30% of U.S adults eat comfort food to cope with stress, The American Institute of Stress.
51% of U.S adults engage in prayer when they are stressed or have to face difficult situations, The American Institute of Stress.
31% of U.S workers cope stress by caffeine, 27% by smoking and 25% by exercising more frequently, Zippia.
55% play video games as it is a source of stress reduction, according to The Independent.
42% of U.S adults started meditation to reduce stress,comparecamp.
40% of Americans use excessive television/video watching to cope with stress, smeharbinger.net.
60% of adults in the U.S drink alcohol in order to cope with the stress, The Independent.
38% of adults in America say they have overeaten or eaten unhealthy foods in the past month because of stress, American Psychological Association.