YEREVAN.- There are 44,000 people suffering from mental and behavioral disorders in Armenia, which makes 1.5% of the population, chairman of Armenian Psychotherapists Association Armen Soghoyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to him, the number of mentally ill in Armenia, as well as in other countries, increases with each year.

He said that 3-7% of the world population suffers from various mental illnesses, and a quarter of world’s population is faced with mental problems. According to the World Health Organization, there are 450 million people with mental disorders all over the globe.

Soghoyan stressed that due to change in pace of life, many people suffer from depression. According to some forecasts, depression will become the most common mental illness in the world by 2020.

The experts say 60% of suicides are committed in a state of depression. The disease is directly related to the quality of life. At the same time, Armen Soghoyan stressed that Armenia, fortunately, is low in the list of states where many suicides are committed.