In which countries does mental health have the most impact?

Although mental health affects many people around the world, there is often not adequate provision for those suffering from it.

In some lower income countries, there is only one health worker per 100,000 population compared with more than 50 in some higher income countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) mental health atlas for 2014.

In countries such as Tajikistan and Ghana, mental health spending is lower than $2 (£1.30) per capita compared with $330 in Sweden, the highest spending country among those that provided data to WHO.

However, it is not just about spending. Figures released by WHO in 2012 show that many of the countries most affected by mental health are not among the world’s poorest.

Examples include Estonia, Belarus and Russia, which have among the world’s highest mental health disability adjusted life years (DALYs) per 100,000 people.