ECT statistics worldwide

Updated October 2026

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is used for severe depression and some other conditions, and how often it is used differs greatly between countries. ECT applies an electrical current to the scalp to bring on a seizure ¹; in modern practice the person is under anaesthesia (modified ECT) ². In every Nordic country with qualifying data, more than 200 people per million population had ECT in a year ³.

Figures below are national or regional rates where they exist, each with its year. Countries count use per million, per ten thousand or per hundred thousand people, so convert figures to one unit before comparing them, and never set counts of sessions against counts of people.

Getting help

If something on this page reflects what you are going through, you do not have to manage it alone. Our guide to finding the right therapist explains how to choose someone qualified, and the TherapyRoute directory lists therapists in many countries.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, our list of helplines and crisis lines worldwide gives free services by country. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

How many people receive ECT

Countries count use as people treated per million, per hundred thousand or per ten thousand, or as sessions per hundred thousand. Before comparing rates of people treated, convert them to the same unit, and do not compare numbers of sessions with numbers of people. Within the worldwide review, Poland's rate was the lowest in Europe ¹; a newer study of Nordic and western European countries puts Italy lower ³. The Ireland figure is a count of residents treated in a year, not a rate.

Who receives ECT and why

In Scotland and among Danish en bloc courses, depression is the most common reason for ECT ^{11 12}. An en bloc course is ECT given on two or three consecutive days ¹². Unipolar depression, the reason named in the Danish figure, is depression without episodes of mania. Some hospitals give ECT to a large share of their inpatients ¹³.

• In Scotland in 2024, depression was the condition treated in 66.8% of electroconvulsive therapy treatment episodes. (administrative records, 2024 data) ¹¹
• In Denmark from 2006 to 2019, unipolar depression was the most common reason for intensive (en bloc) electroconvulsive therapy, at 41%. (national register data, 2006-2019 data) ¹²
• At the largest psychiatric hospital in one of the biggest cities in China, 17.8% of psychiatric inpatients from 2014 to 2017 were given electroconvulsive therapy. (administrative records, 2014-2017 data) ¹³
• At the largest psychiatric hospital in Türkiye, 12.4% of psychiatric inpatients from 2006 to 2007 were given electroconvulsive therapy. (administrative records, 2006-2007 data) ¹⁴

How ECT is given, and consent

In a nationwide survey of hospitals in Thailand, not every hospital always used anaesthesia for ECT ². Some countries publish how many treatments took place without the person's consent ¹⁵.

• In a nationwide survey of hospitals providing electroconvulsive therapy in Thailand, 73.5% always gave it with anaesthesia (modified ECT). (survey, October 2021 data) ²
• In Ireland in 2021, 13% of individual electroconvulsive therapy treatments were given without the person's consent. (administrative records, 2021 data) ¹⁵

Outcomes and access

Scotland's national audit records how many people improve after ECT ¹¹. Scotland's audit found that most patients reported no side effects during treatment, and that memory complaints were the most common side effect reported over the course of treatment ¹¹. Access varies across the United States ¹⁶.

• In Scotland in 2024, 88.8% of patients given electroconvulsive therapy showed an improvement after treatment. (administrative records, 2024 data) ¹¹
• In the United States, 26% of facilities listed in federal directories as providers of electroconvulsive therapy no longer offered it. (manual audit of listed providers, 2026 data) ¹⁶

How to read these figures

Rates use different units, so convert them to one unit before comparing, and never set sessions against people. Populations and years also differ between countries.

Some rows come from an older worldwide review of studies; newer national data may differ.

Hospital figures describe one hospital, not a country.

ECT is one option among several for severe depression, and a psychiatrist usually decides with the patient whether to use it. Our guide on finding the right therapist explains how to choose someone qualified for talking therapy alongside other treatment.

Cite this page: TherapyRoute. ECT statistics worldwide. https://www.therapyroute.com/article/electroconvulsive-therapy-ect-statistics-worldwide-by-therapyroute. Last updated 28 October 2026.

References

1. [1] Contemporary use and practice of electroconvulsive therapy worldwide. Brain and behavior (Leiknes KA et al.), 2012 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
2. [2] Electroconvulsive Therapy Practice in Thailand: A Nationwide Survey. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment (Kittayarak K et al.), 2022 europepmc.org.
3. [3] Use of electroconvulsive therapy in Nordic and western European countries. European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists (Braithwaite R et al.), 2026 europepmc.org.
4. [4] Availability of Electroconvulsive Therapy in Public Health Services in the Last Decade in Brazil. The journal of ECT (Mazucco JP et al.), 2024 europepmc.org.
5. [5] It is time to reassess reporting of electroconvulsive therapy data in New Zealand: A 17-year retrospective analysis of treatment data from Waikato. The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry (Lundin RM et al.), 2025 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
6. [6] Trends and Age-Stratified Analysis of Electroconvulsive Therapy Utilization in Japan: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study Between 2014 and 2021. The journal of ECT (Kido M et al.), 2025 europepmc.org.
7. [7] Demographics of Patients Receiving Electroconvulsive Therapy Based on State-Mandated Reporting Data. The journal of ECT (Luccarelli J et al.), 2020 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
8. [8] A Survey of the Practice of Electroconvulsive Therapy in South Africa. The journal of ECT (Benson-Martin JJ et al.), 2015 europepmc.org.
9. [9] Comparing ECT data of two different inpatient clinics: propofol or thiopental? International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice (Yazici E et al.), 2013 europepmc.org.
10. [10] The Administration of Electro-Convulsive Therapy in Approved Centres: Activity Report 2023. Mental Health Commission (Ireland), 2024 mhcirl.ie.
11. [11] Scottish ECT Audit Network (SEAN): reporting on data from January 2024 to December 2024. Public Health Scotland, 2026 publichealthscotland.scot.
12. [12] The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) en bloc in Denmark: a nationwide register-based study. Nordic journal of psychiatry (Pedersen MI et al.), 2022 europepmc.org.
13. [13] Rates and Patient Characteristics of Electroconvulsive Therapy in China and Comparisons With the United States. The journal of ECT (Ma Y et al.), 2019 europepmc.org.
14. [14] Practice of electroconvulsive therapy at the research and training hospital in Turkey. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology (Saatcioglu O et al.), 2008 europepmc.org.
15. [15] 100% compliance on Electroconvulsive Therapy regulations. Mental Health Commission (Ireland), 2022 mhcirl.ie.
16. [16] Geographic Disparities and Socioeconomic Barriers to Electroconvulsive Therapy in the United States: A Nationwide GIS Analysis and Manual Audit. The journal of ECT (Whaley D.), 2026 europepmc.org.