The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that loneliness is responsible for at least 871,000 deaths globally each year, underscoring its status as a major public health issue.
According to a report released on Monday by the WHO Commission on Social Connection, one in six people worldwide experiences loneliness, which, along with social isolation, contributes to serious health risks.
The commission found that loneliness significantly raises the risk of stroke, heart attack, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, and suicide.
Among teenagers, loneliness is linked to lower academic performance, with lonely students 22% more likely to underperform compared to their peers. Adults who experience loneliness also struggle more in securing and maintaining employment.
Beyond the personal consequences, loneliness imposes a heavy economic burden, resulting in billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity across global economies.
Commission co-chair Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, described loneliness as “a painful, subjective feeling that many of us experience when the relationships that we need do not match the relationships that we have.”
He further distinguished social isolation as “an objective state of having few relationships or interactions.”
The report estimates that one in three older adults and one in four adolescents suffer from social isolation. Key drivers include illness, poor education, low income, limited opportunities for social interaction, living alone, and excessive reliance on digital devices.
Dr. Murthy noted that human communication historically relied not just on speech but also on facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, and silence; many of which are diminished by overuse of mobile phones and social media.
The WHO spotlighted Sweden as a country taking meaningful steps to tackle loneliness. According to Swedish Social Minister Jakob Forssmed, the government has adopted a national strategy that sees loneliness as a societal issue, not just an individual one.
Initiatives include promoting community engagement in shops, restaurants, neighborhoods, and clubs. Plans are also underway to distribute prepaid activity cards to all children and teenagers, usable only for group leisure events.
In addition, Sweden will ban mobile phones in public schools, based on studies that show such bans foster in-person interaction, reduce cyberbullying, and improve students’ sleep and emotional well-being. Children, Forssmed noted, also express frustration over parents distracted by their phones.
While acknowledging the benefits of digital technologies, such as enabling remote communication, the World Health Organization emphasized the need for more face-to-face interactions.
Dr. Murthy concluded, “Having places and spaces in our life where we can interact face to face with other people without the distraction of technology is very important.”
