Bipolar Disorder Statistics

Bipolar disorder affects roughly 1 in 36 U.S. adults in a given year and about 1 in 23 over a lifetime, according to NIMH estimates from national surveys conducted in 2001–2003. Those are still the most widely cited U.S. figures, but they are not current-year counts, and we label every number on this page with its source and data years. Below: prevalence in adults and teens, by type, age of onset, how long diagnosis takes, common co-occurring conditions, heritability, suicide risk, and a few treatment outcomes from major trials.

How to read these numbers

Most U.S. bipolar statistics trace back to two NIMH-funded surveys: the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R, adults, 2001–2003) and its adolescent supplement (NCS-A, 2001–2004). Both used DSM-IV criteria. No newer U.S. national survey of bipolar prevalence appears in the sources we checked, so these figures are best read as solid estimates of scale, not a live count. International and clinical studies fill in other questions; each is cited where used. For background on the condition itself, see our complete guide to bipolar disorder.

How common is bipolar disorder in adults?

According to NIMH, based on NCS-R data:

NIMH notes that the 82.9% share with serious impairment was the highest among the mood disorders it reported.

Prevalence by type: bipolar I, bipolar II and subthreshold

The World Mental Health Survey across 11 countries found lower lifetime figures: bipolar I 0.6%, bipolar II 0.4%, subthreshold 1.4%, and any bipolar spectrum disorder 2.4% (Merikangas et al., 2011). The same study found that fewer than half of people with bipolar spectrum disorder had received mental health treatment.

For cyclothymic disorder, the Merck Manual estimates lifetime prevalence at under 1% to 2.5%. The differences between types are explained in bipolar I vs bipolar II.

Bipolar disorder in teens

According to NIMH, based on NCS-A data from 2001–2004 (ages 13–18):

• Lifetime prevalence: 2.9%; 2.6% had severe impairment
• Females 3.3%, males 2.6%
• By age: 13–14 years 1.9%; 15–16 years 3.1%; 17–18 years 4.3%

NIMH also calls it "a common misperception that children cannot have bipolar disorder," while noting most people are diagnosed in adolescence or adulthood. Parents can find more in our guide to bipolar disorder in teens and children.

Age of onset

• NIMH: symptoms most often start in late adolescence or early adulthood.
• APA: "The average age of onset is in the mid-20s."
• VA/DoD 2023 guideline, citing a systematic review: onset is trimodal, with average ages of about 18.7 (early onset), 25.5 (mid) and 29.4 (late).
• VA/DoD: only about 20% of bipolar I cases begin after age 40.

The age pattern in the NIMH adult table (highest past-year prevalence at 18–29) fits this early onset.

Diagnostic delay and misdiagnosis

• 5.8 years: pooled average interval from onset to management in a meta-analysis of 27 studies and 9,415 patients (Dagani et al., 2017).
• Up to 14.5 years: delays from presentation to diagnosis cited in the 2023 VA/DoD guideline.
• 69%: share misdiagnosed in a 2000 survey of 600 people with bipolar disorder, most often with unipolar depression. Those misdiagnosed saw an average of 4 physicians first, and more than a third waited 10 or more years (Hirschfeld et al., 2003). This was a self-selected support-group sample, so it shows the problem rather than a population rate.

Why it happens is covered on is it depression or bipolar disorder?.

Conditions that commonly occur with bipolar disorder

The VA/DoD guideline also cites roughly 10 years of potential life lost in bipolar disorder, based on a 2022 systematic review.

Genetics and family risk

• Twin study heritability estimate: 85% (McGuffin et al., 2003, 67 twin pairs).
• Swedish population family study (54,723 cases): heritability 58%, with first-degree relatives at 5.8 to 7.9 times the risk (Song et al., 2015).
• NIMH: many genes are involved and no single gene causes the disorder; identical twins can differ, so genes are not the whole story.

Different study designs give different numbers, so the fairest summary is that family and twin studies estimate heritability at roughly 60–85%.

Suicide risk

• Pooled suicide rate: 164 per 100,000 person-years (ISBD Task Force, Schaffer et al., 2015).
• Suicide attempts: 23–26% of people with bipolar disorder in epidemiological studies (same source).
• People with bipolar disorder account for an estimated 3.4–14% of all suicide deaths; the male-to-female ratio for suicide deaths is 1.7:1 (same source).
• How much higher than the general population: published estimates vary with method. A 2020 review puts it at roughly 20–30 times (Miller & Black, 2020); the Merck Manual summary cites approximately 20 to 60 times.

Suicide risk is concentrated in depressive and mixed states (Miller & Black, 2020). Lithium is associated with lower suicide risk in many studies, though one 2021 network meta-analysis cited by the VA/DoD did not confirm the effect in short trials.

Selected treatment outcomes

• Intensive psychotherapy: in the STEP-BD trial (293 outpatients with bipolar depression), 64.4% recovered within a year with intensive therapy versus 51.5% with brief collaborative care (Miklowitz et al., 2007).
• Bright light therapy: midday light added to antimanic medication led to remission in 68.2% versus 22.2% with placebo light (Sit et al., 2018).
• Pregnancy: in a meta-analysis of 5,700 deliveries, postpartum relapse among women with bipolar disorder was 66% without medication during pregnancy versus 23% with preventive medication (Wesseloo et al., 2016).
• Postpartum psychosis: 0.89 to 2.6 per 1,000 women in the general population (VanderKruik et al., 2017).

Numbers like these describe groups, not individuals; they are a reason for hope and for steady care. Willow & Stone offers outpatient evaluation and ongoing management for adults and young people 10 and up; see bipolar disorder treatment at Willow & Stone.

Using these figures

If you cite this page, please cite the original source shown for each number, with its data years. A few cautions that apply to every bipolar statistic:

• Survey figures depend on the diagnostic criteria used; the NIMH estimates use DSM-IV, not the current DSM-5-TR.
• Clinical samples (people already in treatment) usually show higher rates of co-occurring conditions than population surveys.
• Percentages describe groups. They cannot predict what will happen to any one person.
• Prevalence estimates count people with symptoms, whether or not they were ever diagnosed or treated.

This page is reviewed when major sources are updated. Last checked against its sources on October 19, 2026.

Common Questions

Sources & Further Reading

• NIMH: Bipolar Disorder statistics (NCS-R and NCS-A survey data)
• American Psychiatric Association: What Are Bipolar Disorders?
• VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Bipolar Disorder (2023)
• Merikangas et al. Bipolar spectrum prevalence in the NCS-R (Arch Gen Psychiatry 2007)
• Merikangas et al. Bipolar spectrum in the World Mental Health Survey (2011)
• Dagani et al. Interval between onset and management of bipolar disorder (Can J Psychiatry 2017)
• Hirschfeld et al. NDMDA survey of people with bipolar disorder (J Clin Psychiatry 2003)
• Schaffer et al. ISBD Task Force on suicide in bipolar disorder (Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2015)
• Miller & Black. Bipolar Disorder and Suicide: a Review (Curr Psychiatry Rep 2020)
• Nabavi et al. Anxiety disorders in bipolar disorder, meta-analysis (EBioMedicine 2015)
• Song et al. Bipolar disorder family study in Sweden (Bipolar Disord 2015)
• McGuffin et al. Heritability of bipolar affective disorder (Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003)

This article is general education, not a diagnosis or advice for your situation. Do not start, stop, or change a medication without talking to the clinician who prescribes it; stopping a mood stabilizer suddenly can trigger relapse.