Nationwide outpatient claims data of all statutorily insured individuals for the years 2012–2022 were used to determine the diagnostic prevalence of mental disorders (ICD-10 F00–F99 and five selected diagnosis groups), with stratification by sex and age. Over the period 2012–2022, the percentage of people with outpatient diagnoses of mental disorders rose from 33.4% to 37.9% (a relative increase of 13.4%).

The indicator “Mental disorders: administrative prevalence” is defined as the proportion of adults with statutory health insurance using outpatient care for whom a diagnosis of a mental disorder was documented in outpatient care one or more times in the respective year (ICD-10 codes: F00–F99). Over time, the administrative prevalence of mental disorders increased between 2012 (35.0%) and 2024. In 2024, 40.9% of adults in Germany were diagnosed with a mental disorder in outpatient care.

Nationwide outpatient claims data of all statutorily insured individuals for the years 2012–2022 (Nmin = 68.7 million people, Nmax = 73.7 million people) were used to determine the diagnostic prevalence of mental disorders (ICD-10 F00–F99 and five selected diagnosis groups), with stratification by sex and age. Over the period 2012–2022, the percentage of people with outpatient diagnoses of mental disorders rose from 33.4% to 37.9% (a relative increase of 13.4%).

The indicator *Psychische Störungen: Administrative Prävalenz* is defined as the share of adults with statutory health insurance using outpatient care who have at least one documented diagnosis of a mental disorder (ICD-10 code F00–F99) in the given year. "Im Zeitverlauf stieg die administrative Prävalenz psychischer Störungen zwischen den Jahren 2012 (35,0 %) und 2024 an." It further states: "40,9 % der Erwachsenen erhielten im Jahr 2024 eine Diagnose einer psychischen Störung in der ambulanten Versorgung."

In the section on results the article reports: "2012–2022 stieg der Anteil von Personen mit ambulanten Diagnosen psychischer Störungen von 33,4 % auf 37,9 % an (+13,4 %)." The study uses statutory health insurance outpatient claims data and defines mental disorders by ICD-10 F00–F99. Thus for the full adult population with outpatient diagnoses of mental disorders, the share is 33.4% in 2012 and 37.9% in 2022, not 35.0% and 40.9% for that period.

On the overview page for mental disorders the RKI summarises: "40,9 % der Erwachsenen erhielten im Jahr 2024 eine Diagnose einer psychischen Störung." It links this figure to the indicator on administrative prevalence based on outpatient statutory health insurance data. It also references the publication "Entwicklung der Diagnoseprävalenz psychischer Störungen 2012–2022" as the analysis of trends over that period.

In the slide set "Psychische Gesundheit der Bevölkerung – Aktuelle Lage" the section "Ambulante Diagnosen psychischer Störungen" shows a chart labelled: "Anteil Erwachsener in % – 2012 – 2023". The chart lists 35,0% for 2012 and 40,4% for 2023 as the share of adults with at least one confirmed diagnosis of a mental disorder in the reporting year, based on nationwide statutory outpatient billing data (ICD-10-GM, F00–F99; N = 68.7 million adults in 2012 and 60.7 million in 2023).

The Robert Koch Institute’s monitoring page states that developments in the national diagnostic prevalence of mental disorders 2012–2021 were analysed in collaboration with the Central Research Institute of Ambulatory Health Care in Germany (Zi), and that a paper detailing these results was submitted for publication.

The DGPPN basic data report cites RKI figures on administrative prevalence: "Im Jahr 2023 erhielten 40,4 % der gesetzlich versicherten Erwachsenen eine Diagnose einer psychischen Störung." It explains that these are outpatient diagnoses from statutory health insurance claims data and notes that this "administrative prevalence" does not equal true disease prevalence. The report attributes the data to the RKI’s Mental Health Surveillance and the indicator "Psychische Störungen: Administrative Prävalenz" based on outpatient billing data (ICD-10 F00–F99).

In 2024, an estimated 22% of adults showed depressive symptoms and 14% showed anxiety symptoms. The report also says that a renewed increase in the administrative prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among adults with statutory health insurance in outpatient care was recorded for both 2023 and 2024, after diagnoses had previously developed differently.

A policy recommendations paper summarising RKI data states: "Allein in der ambulanten Versorgung erhielten im Jahr 2023 40,4 % der Erwachsenen in Deutschland die Diagnose einer psychischen Störung (Robert Koch-Institut, …)." It emphasises that mental disorders are widespread and uses the RKI administrative prevalence indicator for its argument. This confirms the 40.4% figure for 2023 but does not mention a 40.9% value for 2022; 40.9% is reported by RKI for 2024 in other sources.

The Deutsches Ärzteblatt article on "Entwicklung der Diagnoseprävalenz psychischer Störungen 2012–2022" reports that the proportion of persons with outpatient diagnoses of mental disorders increased from 33.4% in 2012 to 37.9% in 2022. It details that "Personen mit in nur einem Quartal dokumentierter Diagnose machen…" a certain share, distinguishing between continuous and intermittent diagnoses, and analyses trends across different diagnostic groups based on statutory outpatient claims (ICD-10 F00–F99).

The RKI report on depressive and anxiety symptoms notes that a renewed increase in the administrative prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among adults with statutory health insurance in outpatient care was recorded for both 2023 and 2024, citing prior RKI work on outpatient claims data.

On its thematic page "Psychische Gesundheit und psychische Störungen" the RKI lists the publication "Entwicklung der Diagnoseprävalenz psychischer Störungen 2012–2022" (Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 31.5.2024) and the EBH spotlight report on mental health. This page confirms that trends in administrative prevalence of mental disorders are analysed for the period 2012–2022 using statutory outpatient claims data and mental health surveillance, but it does not present specific percentages itself.

In addition, a renewed increase in the administrative prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among adults with statutory health insurance in outpatient care was recorded for both 2023 and 2024, after diagnoses had previously developed differently from symptoms. These administrative prevalence indicators are based on nationwide physician claims data of adults with statutory health insurance who used outpatient services, with mental disorder diagnoses coded according to ICD-10 F00–F99.

The RKI report "Psychische Gesundheit in Deutschland – Bericht Teil 1" explains that in Germany the ICD-10 Chapter V (F) has been the official diagnostic classification system since 1998 "that is used in both outpatient and inpatient settings". It clarifies that examples of mental disorders include depression, anxiety disorders, behavioural disorders, bipolar disorders and psychoses, and discusses prevalence based on survey data and standardized clinical diagnostics, complementing administrative prevalence from health insurance claims.

Objectives: To describe the prevalence and distribution of perceived need for mental healthcare among adults in Germany and examine its association with more objective indicators of need as well as mental health literacy. Methods: We used data from 6,558 adults randomly sampled from a health insurance company as well as nationally representative survey data from 10,676 adults. Those with perceived need were also twice as likely to have a documented F-diagnosis than those without. The study used documented ICD-10 F00–F99 diagnoses from statutory health insurance claims as an objective indicator of mental health need.

The CDC’s data brief shows that the percentage of U.S. adults who had received any mental health treatment increased from 2019 to 2021, driven largely by a nearly 5 percentage point increase among adults aged 18–44. This is not Germany-specific, but it provides context that mental-health-related care use can rise over time in population data.

The present study examines trends in the prevalence of depressive symptoms among adults in Germany between 2008 and 2023 within the framework of the Robert Koch Institute's mental health surveillance. Administrative prevalence indicators of depression based on statutory health insurance outpatient claims (ICD-10 F-diagnoses) show an increase over time, with higher diagnostic prevalence in recent years compared to earlier survey waves. These indicators are derived from nationwide outpatient physician claims data for adults with statutory health insurance.

This narrative review aims to provide an overview of the structure, financing models, and challenges of the German mental healthcare system for adults. Germany allocates 13% of its GDP to healthcare—one of the highest proportions globally—with over 10% of this directed toward mental health. In 2022, there were 6,009 physician psychotherapists and 32,601 psychological psychotherapists offering psychotherapy under statutory health insurance. Nationwide outpatient care for mental disorders is largely financed through statutory health insurance, and diagnostic prevalence estimates are based on claims data with ICD-10 F00–F99 codes.

The report shows that while prevalence of mental health disorders can vary by sex, women are disproportionately impacted overall. Outpatient mental health services and telehealth are becoming more available, though access remains uneven. Administrative prevalence estimates based on health insurance claims are increasingly used in high-income countries, including Germany, to monitor trends in mental disorder diagnoses in outpatient care.

In 2024, 8.1% of adults in Germany were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in outpatient care. Over time, the administrative prevalence of anxiety disorders increased between 2012 (5.8%) and 2024.

In 2021, we found an overall age- and sex-standardized incidence of schizophrenia of 41.3/100,000 when considering both outpatient and inpatient diagnoses. We also found a decline in the prevalence estimates of around 9% from 2010 to 2021, which is higher than the decline as reported from the GDB study data (0.9%).

The RKI Panel 'Health in Germany' addresses key challenges in epidemiological surveys, such as declining participation rates and increasing non-response bias. Mental health indicators such as depressive and anxiety symptoms or low social support are significantly higher in the RKI Panel than in the GEDA telephone survey. Within the Robert Koch Institute’s mental health surveillance, these survey-based indicators are complemented by administrative prevalence indicators of mental disorders derived from statutory health insurance outpatient claims coded with ICD-10 F00–F99.

The paper on Germany’s adult population reports that a depression diagnosis was documented for 13.9% of those with any contact with a health care provider in outpatient setting in 2022 compared to 12.1% in 2012 according to nationwide claims data on all statutorily insured individuals.

The proportion of children and adolescents with a documented mental disorder increased from 23% in 2009 to 28% in 2017. Mood disorders showed the largest increase in diagnostic prevalence during the observation period.

Since 2008, the Robert Koch Institute has conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey of the population on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health, called "Health in Germany". The survey and related health monitoring activities include modules on mental health and use of health services, which are complemented by analyses of administrative data such as statutory health insurance claims for outpatient care.

The query describes a 2025 Robert Koch Institute report about adults with statutory health insurance outpatient claims and whether at least one documented mental disorder diagnosis (ICD-10 F00–F99) increased from 35.0% in 2012 to 40.9% in 2022. The closest located RKI-published or RKI-indexed source instead reports 33.4% in 2012 and 37.9% in 2022 for outpatient diagnoses of mental disorders.