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The good news is — while mental health challenges persist, more residents surveyed have shown greater willingness to seek help.
Mental health is increasingly being recognised as a vital component of overall wellbeing, not merely the absence of mental illness. According to the World Health Organization, mental health is defined as a state of wellbeing in which individuals realise their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.
In Singapore, recent data has shed light on concerning patterns, particularly among younger adults, with the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), conducted annually by the Ministry of Health and Health Promotion Board, tracking Singapore residents' health, risk factors, and lifestyle practices.
This year's edition revealed several key health indicators. In this article, we will be focusing on mental health.
Methodology
The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was administered by interviewers and used to measure mental health. Cut-off for poor mental health (having a score of 3 or more) was based on an earlier internal validation study conducted in 2003.
Prevalence of poor mental health
The crude prevalence of poor mental health, as measured by GHQ-12, among Singapore residents aged 18 to 74 years was 15.4% in 2024.
Gender
More females (17.3%) reported poor mental health compared to males (13.5%).
Age group
The prevalence of poor mental health was highest in younger adults aged 18 to 29 years (25.5%), while the prevalence for other age groups was lower and decreased with age, ranging from 17.8% in the 30 to 39 years age group to 9.1% in the 60 to 74 years age group.
Young females aged 18 to 29 years (31.7%) had the highest prevalence of poor mental health, double that of the national average.
Ethnicity
Among the ethnic groups, Indians (18.0%) and Malays (17.7%) had higher prevalences of poor mental health compared to Chinese (15.1%).
Education level
Residents with post-secondary education (16.7%) had the highest prevalence of poor mental health compared to residents with primary (11.4%) or secondary education (13.6%).
In 2024, Singapore residents aged 18 to 74 years indicated a stronger preference for seeking help informally from their support networks (81.8%) than from healthcare professionals (64.0%) when constantly unable to cope with stress. Females were more willing than males to seek help from both healthcare professionals (65.1% vs. 62.8%) and informal support networks (84.9% vs. 78.6%).
Among age groups, residents aged 30 to 39 years were the most willing to seek help from healthcare professionals (70.9%), while those aged 60 to 74 years were the least willing (54.7%). Similarly, willingness to seek help from informal support networks decreased with age — highest among younger adults aged 18 to 29 years (88.7%) and lowest among older adults aged 60 to 74 years (73.4%).
On a positive note, the NPHS 2024 has found that Singapore residents are adopting healthier lifestyles, with total physical activity and health screening rates rising and returning to pre-COVID levels, with the prevalence of daily smoking continuing to decrease to an all-time low, and a significant improvement in influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates.
Furthermore, the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension remains stable, while that for hyperlipidaemia has decreased over the years. That said, these chronic diseases remain a concern as prevalence rates are high, with about one in three Singapore residents continue to have hyperlipidaemia and hypertension.
On the flipside, there is also a need to sustain efforts to address the significant increase in prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2).
Sufficient total physical activity has returned to pre-COVID levels
Compared to 2023, the proportion of residents engaging in sufficient total physical activity (TPA) increased significantly from 78.5% to 84.7%, marking a return to pre-COVID levels. Commuting was the largest contributor to TPA per week in 2024 at 51.6%, followed by leisure-time physical activity at 24.7% and work-related physical activity at 23.6%.
Chronic disease, breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer screening have returned or are gradually returning to pre-COVID levels
Screening participation in 2024 was broadly unchanged when compared to 2023 for chronic disease (62.6% in 2023 vs. 66.4% in 2024), breast (34.7% in 2023 vs. 35.2% in 2024), colorectal (41.7% in 2023 vs. 44.9% in 2024), and cervical cancer (45.4% in 2023 vs. 44.9% in 2024) screening.
The longer-term trend shows that the proportion of eligible residents participating in screening decreased during the COVID-19 period, but is gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels. Participation in chronic disease screening (66.3% in 2019) and colorectal cancer screening (42.0% in 2019) has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, while participation in breast (38.7% in 2019) and cervical (48.2% in 2019) cancer screening is gradually returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Prevalence of smoking continues to decline
Prevalence of daily smoking has further decreased from 8.8% in 2023 to 8.4% in 2024, reaching an all-time low. Between 2019 and 2024, the fall is even more significant, from 10.6% to 8.4%. MOH will continue our efforts to keep smoking prevalence low through a multi-pronged approach consisting of policy measures, public education and provision of cessation support to encourage residents to lead a nicotine-free lifestyle.
Improved uptake of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations
Self-reported vaccination rates for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines also increased from 2023. Among Singapore residents aged 18 to 74 years, influenza vaccination uptake rose significantly from 21.7% in 2023 to 28.2% in 2024. Likewise, pneumococcal vaccination uptake among residents aged 65 to 74 years increased from 35.0% to 49.7% over the same period. Vaccinations rates for influenza (17.4% in 2019) and pneumococcal (10.3% in 2019) vaccines also increased significantly between 2019 and 2024.
Diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia remain a concern
Compared to the immediate past survey (2021-2022) (diabetes: 8.5%, hypertension: 37%, hyperlipidaemia: 31.9%), the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia in 2023-2024 remained stable. Between 2019-2020 and 2023-2024, the prevalence of diabetes (9.5% vs 9.1%) and hypertension (35.5% vs 33.8%) remained stable while the prevalence of hyperlipidaemia decreased (39.1% vs 30.5%). However, about 1 in 3 Singapore residents have hyperlipidaemia and/or hypertension, marking an area of concern.
Increasing prevalence of obesity among Singapore residents
The trends in obesity and mental health are of concern. The proportion of obese residents (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2) increased significantly from 10.5% in 2019-2020 to 12.7% in 2023-2024. However, the proportion of residents with BMI ≥27.5 kg/m2, who face a higher risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, remained stable over the same period, at 20.7% in 2019-2020 compared to 22.8% in 2023-2024.
Efforts to encourage seeking help for mental health issues
As part of the efforts under the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the government has continued to strengthen mental health support across all settings. To better navigate these services, the First Stops for Mental Health were introduced to provide a clear, "no wrong door" support for individuals in distress and facilitate easy access to mental health services.
Launched in June 2025, the national mindline 1771 offers round-the-clock mental health support via call, WhatsApp, and webchat — making help more accessible than ever. Complementing this, efforts to equip individuals with the skills to manage stress and support others emotionally have been strengthened through the Agency for Integrated Care’s online mental health awareness courses, as well as the Health Promotion Board’s annual campaigns and the introduction of peer support e-learning programmes.
Infographics and lead image / NPHS 2024
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