New research conducted for BBC World Service “shows the pandemic has a profound effect on the mental health of many people” according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and that “further research on mental health and COVID-19 among specific at-risk populations (younger people and women) is needed.”
The poll of 31 countries and territories was conducted by GlobeScan for the BBC in June and July 2022 as the pandemic had receded in many countries. In total, almost 30,000 people around the world were surveyed about the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on their lives.
Overall, 36% of people surveyed in 31 countries and territories said they felt better emotionally now than they did before the pandemic, compared with 27% who said they felt worse.
Many said that spending more time with family, having a better connection to their community and to nature, and feeling clearer about their overall priorities all had a positive effect.
People in Vietnam, India, Egypt, and Nigeria were most likely to say they felt better while in Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong they were most likely to say they felt worse.
Women experienced a stronger negative impact of the pandemic on their mental health in almost all countries surveyed.
Personal loss has touched many people’s lives in the past two years; almost half surveyed say they have lost someone they know of personally (49%), while one third claim to have lost a loved one during the pandemic (33%). Many of these losses were greatly impacted by the pandemic; 56% of those who lost a loved one say the event was ‘a great deal’ influenced by the pandemic, while 47% of those who lost someone, they know of personally say the same.
The pandemic also greatly influenced other life events such as having a change of career (40% of those who experience this say it was influenced ‘a great deal’ by the pandemic), getting a pet (40%), deciding to get married (38%), deciding to have a child (34%), or deciding to get divorced (33%).
WHO said: “The GlobeScan findings show that (the) pandemic had a profound effect on the mental health of many people. This effect was not uniform, but diverse and differed between population groups. They also emphasize that further research on mental health and COVID-19 among specific at-risk populations is needed and particularly on factors making certain subgroups of young(er) people and females more at risk for the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic than others such as loneliness, fewer coping abilities or pre-existing health problems.
“Since outpatient mental health services have been particularly disrupted during the pandemic and only a minority of people with mental health problems received treatment, the COVID-19 pandemic has further widened the mental health treatment gap. Future studies should therefore focus on scaling up mental health services and psychosocial support as an fundamental component in preparedness and response plans for future public health emergencies.”
Andrew Oswald, professor of economics and behavioural science at the University of Warwick, said: “What we know is that there is a persistent kind of optimism-today bias. People look back and incorrectly tend to think that things were worse then and that they are happier now,” he says. “This has been demonstrated in long-running longitudinal research by comparing recall levels of happiness with the actual levels of happiness when measured at the time.”
Please credit BBC World Service and GlobeScan for any information used.
Download Data Files
For more information, please contact:
- Stacy Rowland, GlobeScan: stacy.rowland@globescan.com, +1 416-992-2705
Key findings include:
- 36% of people globally say they feel somewhat better (23%) or much better (13%) emotionally now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, while 27% say they feel somewhat worse (21%) or much worse (6%). In 18 out of 31 countries and territories surveyed, people are more likely to say that their current emotional wellbeing is better rather than worse than before the pandemic.
- Some groups are more likely than others to say they feel better than they did before the pandemic, including those with higher incomes (43% feel better) and education (38%), city-dwellers (40%), younger people (especially Millennials), and those living with children under 18 at home (46%).
- People in Vietnam (72%), India (70%), Egypt (62%), and Nigeria (61%) are the most likely to say they feel better now than before the pandemic. People in Japan (42%), South Korea (41%), and Hong Kong (40%) are instead the most likely to say they feel worse.
- 34% now say the pandemic had a positive effect specifically on their mental health compared to 28% in 2021, while the proportion saying it had a negative effect has decreased from 43% in 2021 to 33% in 2022.
- Younger people are more likely to say the pandemic affected their mental health either positively (39% for ages 18‒24 and 43% for ages 25‒34) or negatively (39% for ages 18‒24) while older people are more likely to say that the pandemic did not affect their mental health at all (50% for age 65+).
- Those living with children under 18 are the most likely to say the effect of the pandemic on their mental health has been positive (44%), but women are generally more likely than men to report a negative effect (37% vs 29%).
- People have also become more likely to say the pandemic has had a positive effect on their relationship with nature (50% say it had a positive effect compared to 45% in 2021), overall priorities (50% vs 45%), sense of community and connectedness (43% vs 37%), and financial situation (20% vs 26%).
- Personal loss has touched many people’s lives in the past two years; almost half surveyed say they have lost someone they know of personally (49%), while one third claim to have lost a loved one during the pandemic (33%). Many of these losses were greatly impacted by the pandemic; 56% of those who lost a loved one say the event was ‘a great deal’ influenced by the pandemic, while 47% of those who lost someone, they know of personally say the same.
- The pandemic also greatly influenced other life events such as having a change of career (40% of those who experience this say it was influenced ‘a great deal’ by the pandemic), getting a pet (40%), deciding to get married (38%), deciding to have a child (34%), or deciding to get divorced (33%).
- The pandemic has also impacted people’s daily lives in lasting and often positive ways, with 52% saying they spend more leisure time with their family now than they did before the pandemic and many claiming to spend more time on learning new skills (46%), enjoying hobbies (44%) or exercising (44%), among other habits. The way people work has also changed for many; 43% of people say they now spend more time working from home compared to before the pandemic.
- As the pandemic recedes, people have also come to re-evaluate its impact. Many increasingly recognize that the pandemic has had a positive effect on various aspects of their lives. The increase in perceived positive impact of the pandemic includes a perceived positive impact on mental health specifically (34% vs 28% in 2021), but also people’s relationship with nature (50% vs 45%), overall priorities (50% vs 45%), and sense of community and connectedness (43% vs 37%). While still largely negative, the pandemic’s impact on people’s financial situation has also improved over the past year (20% vs 26% say the effect was positive).
- Looking at mental health and wellbeing specifically (not just general emotional wellbeing), the pandemic has clearly been a challenge for many. Globally, people are split between those who say the pandemic has had a positive effect on their mental health and wellbeing (34%), those who say the effect has been negative (33%), and those who say the pandemic had no effect (31%).
About the BBC World Service
BBC World Service delivers news content around the world in English and 41 other language services, on radio, TV and digital. BBC World Service reaches a weekly audience of 365m. As part of BBC World Service, BBC Learning English teaches English to global audiences. The BBC attracts overall weekly global audience of 492m people to its services available internationally, including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel, bbc.com/news, BBC Studios and the international charity, BBC Media Action, with a weekly total international audience of 458m for BBC News.
For more information, visit www.bbc.com/worldservice
Methodology
Charts
Question Wording
Q. Did any of these events happen to you during the COVID-19 pandemic?
01 Yes
02 No
99 Prefer not to answer
- Decided to get married
- Decided to get divorced
- Decided to have a child
- Decided to move homes
- Lost a close loved one
- Lost someone I know of personally
- Changed jobs/careers
- Reduced my working hours
- Increased my working hours
- Started studies
- Finished/stopped studies
- Retired
- Children moved in or out
- Decided to get a pet
Q. How much, if at all, did the COVID-19 pandemic influence each of these events?
05 A great deal
04 Some
03 A little
02 Not very much
01 None at all
- Decided to get married
- Decided to get divorced
- Decided to have a child
- Decided to move homes
- Lost a close loved one
- Lost someone I know of personally
- Changed jobs/careers
- Reduced my working hours
- Increased my working hours
- Started studies
- Finished/stopped studies
- Retired
- Children moved in or out
- Decided to get a pet
Q. How much time do you currently spend each week doing the following, compared with before the pandemic?
01 Much more time
02 Somewhat more time
03 No difference
04 Somewhat less time
05 Much less time
99 Don’t know
- Working from home
- Working on site at your place of employment
- Domestic chores
- Cooking
- Caring for family members
- Spending leisure time with family members
- Learning new skills
- Commuting
- Enjoying hobbies
- Watching TV
- Spending social time using my phone
- Exercising
- Drinking alcohol
- Eating fruits and vegetables
Q. Overall, how has the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic affected each of the following?
01 Very positively
02 Somewhat positively
03 Has had no effect
04 Somewhat negatively
05 Very negatively
99 Don’t know / prefer not to answer
- My relationship to nature and my environment
- My sense of community and connectedness
- My overall priorities or what matters
- My mental health and wellbeing
- My financial situation
Q. And would you say that your emotional wellbeing is currently better or worse, compared with before the pandemic?
01 Much better
02 Somewhat better
03 No difference
04 Somewhat worse
05 Much worse
99 Don’t know/Prefer not to answer
