Wealth isn’t necessarily a benefit when it comes to mental health, a new report released in February shows, and nowhere is this more evident than in Africa.
- A new report shows that wealth does not necessarily equate to better mental health, with young people in Africa outperforming those in wealthier countries.
- Youth in high-income countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Japan have lower mental health scores compared to those in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- The Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) measures emotional, cognitive, social, and resilience aspects, with global averages indicating a decline in youth mental health in affluent nations.
- Key factors affecting youth mental health include family relationships, spirituality, early smartphone usage, and ultra-processed food consumption.
Countries flush with resources, advanced healthcare systems, and abundant mental health programs are struggling more than their peers in less affluent regions, without as much access to these amenities.
According to Sapien Labs’ 2025 Global Mind Health Report, young individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa are outperforming their counterparts in more developed countries in terms of mental health.
Ages 18 to 34, a group frequently identified as the most susceptible to stress, digital distraction, and social pressures, struggle the most in high-income countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Japan, while doing best in African countries like Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria.
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Ghana tops the list this year, globally, with youth reporting a Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) above 60.
The MHQ is a comprehensive metric that includes emotional, cognitive, social, and resilience characteristics and is intended to assess an individual’s capacity to effectively negotiate life’s challenges.
Globally, the MHQ averages 66, indicating a troubling plateau in youth mental health in high-income countries despite enormous public and corporate expenditure in mental health care.
One of the most notable findings is the disparity between wealth and mental health.
High-income countries with ample resources and access to mental health services are experiencing some of the biggest drops in youth MHQ scores.
In contrast, Sub-Saharan African countries, which frequently face significantly greater economic and social challenges, show higher levels of resilience.
This shows that mental health is inextricably linked to social structures, family stability, and cultural practices, rather than just medical or financial interventions.
Reasons for mental health crisis
The report ultimately highlights four root causes of young adults’ mental health trends: deteriorating family relationships, falling spirituality, early and widespread smartphone use, and rising consumption of ultra-processed foods.
Countries with strong family and community links, such as those in Spanish-speaking Latin America (headed by the Dominican Republic and Argentina), have more resilience, whereas weaker social and familial networks, as observed in portions of West Africa and East Asia, correspond with lower mental health outcomes.
Last year, the same study assessed over one million responses from internet-enabled populations in 76 nations, as opposed to 84 this year, which also indicated a substantial disparity in youth mental health outcomes.
While 18- to 34-year-olds in high-income countries had severe and consistent declines, several African countries showed resilience.
Tanzania, in 2024, led the global chart with a Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) above 60, although young adults in Nigeria and Kenya also performed well, scoring between 50 and 60.
