Overview

• WHO’s latest baseline estimates more than one billion people living with mental disorders, with depression and anxiety costing about 12 billion lost workdays and roughly US$1 trillion in productivity each year.
• Mexico’s INEGI reports that over 49% of people have experienced anxiety symptoms, while Querétaro recorded a 46% rise in depression cases in 2024, underscoring mounting local burdens.
• Peru’s Health Ministry counted more than 250,000 depression cases treated in 2024, as community mental‑health centers expand but continue to face staffing and resource constraints.
• In Buenos Aires, a new EPRA/UCA survey finds 28.6% of adults reporting psychological distress, with higher rates among women and the unemployed and strong links to risky digital use and substance consumption.
• A Mercer Marsh survey of employers in Latin America and the Caribbean finds only 12% effectively manage psychosocial risks and just 9% measure burnout, despite widespread digital platforms with limited professional verification and minimal AI use.