Tourette syndrome statistics worldwide

Updated October 2026

Tics are common in childhood, and Tourette syndrome affects a small but real share of young people. The key figures below come from a worldwide meta-analysis in Pediatric Neurology ¹ and the National Survey of Children's Health, a survey of parents in the United States ². The anxiety figure comes from a review in the Italian Journal of Pediatrics ³.

Tourette syndrome is a condition of the nervous system that starts in childhood. It involves several motor tics and at least one vocal tic over more than a year. A tic is a sudden, repeated movement or sound that is hard to hold back: motor tics are movements, such as blinking, and vocal tics are sounds, such as throat clearing. A chronic tic disorder involves motor tics or vocal tics, but not both, for more than a year. Tics often ease from the late teens into early adulthood ².

Many people with Tourette syndrome also live with another condition, such as ADHD, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, affects attention, activity and impulse control. OCD involves unwanted thoughts that keep coming back and urges to repeat actions. A meta-analysis, or pooled estimate, combines the results of many studies into one figure.

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 common tics and Tourette syndrome are

Worldwide figures pool studies that used different methods and age groups, so they show the scale rather than one exact rate. Population-based studies sample whole communities rather than clinic patients.

• Worldwide, 0.7% of children and adolescents had Tourette syndrome in a pooled review, the highest rate of any population group it compared. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2022) ¹
• Across population-based studies of children, 0.5% had Tourette syndrome, and the authors judge the true rate likely sits at the higher end of their estimated range. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2015) ⁴
• Across studies in China, 6.1% of children aged three to sixteen had a tic disorder of any type, in a pooled review of community and school surveys. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2016) ⁵
• Across pooled studies in China, almost all in schools, 0.3% of children aged three to sixteen had Tourette syndrome, while short-lived transient tics were the most common tic disorder. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2016) ⁵
• In central China, 10.7% of children aged three to sixteen had a tic disorder, a higher rate than in the north or east, in pooled studies, almost all in schools. (pooled from prevalence studies, at one point in time, published 2016) ⁵

Boys, girls and age

Doctors diagnose Tourette syndrome far more often in boys than in girls. Rates are highest in late childhood and early adolescence, then fall as tics lessen in early adulthood.

• In the United States, a doctor or other health care provider had told the parents of 0.4% of boys aged zero to seventeen that the child had Tourette syndrome, far more than for girls. (survey, lifetime (ever), 2016-2022 data) ²
• In the United States, a doctor or other health care provider had told the parents of 0.1% of girls aged zero to seventeen that the child had Tourette syndrome. (survey, lifetime (ever), 2016-2022 data) ²
• In China, 0.5% of boys aged six to sixteen had Tourette syndrome, a significantly higher rate than in girls, in a nationwide school survey from 2014 to 2015. (survey, at one point in time, 2014-2015 data) ⁶
• In China, 0.2% of girls aged six to sixteen had Tourette syndrome, in a nationwide school survey from 2014 to 2015. (survey, at one point in time, 2014-2015 data) ⁶
• In Poland, recorded chronic tic disorders reached 85.4 per 100,000 boys aged zero to seventeen in 2024, a sharp rise since 2010, by national health insurance records. (administrative records, 2024 data) ⁷
• In Poland, recorded chronic tic disorders reached 33.0 per 100,000 girls aged zero to seventeen in 2024, a sharp rise since 2010, by national health insurance records. (administrative records, 2024 data) ⁷
• In the United States, adolescents aged twelve to seventeen had the highest rate, 0.4%, of parents told by a doctor or other health care provider that the child had Tourette syndrome. (survey, lifetime (ever), 2016-2022 data) ²
• In China, 1.0% of students aged thirteen to sixteen had a tic disorder, well below the rate in children aged six to twelve, in a nationwide survey from 2014 to 2015. (survey, at one point in time, 2014-2015 data) ⁶
• In Iran, adolescents aged fifteen to eighteen had the highest lifetime rate of tic disorders, at 1.9%, in a national interview survey of young people. (survey, lifetime (ever), published 2022, fieldwork year not stated) ⁸
• In Taiwan, doctors newly diagnosed Tourette syndrome or a chronic tic disorder in males about 3.74 times as often as in females between 2007 and 2015, by national insurance records. (administrative records, 2007-2015 data) ⁹

Conditions that often come with tics

Studies of children seen in specialist clinics find that most have at least one other condition, but community studies find lower rates of OCD and ADHD ¹¹.

Co-occurring conditions are conditions that come alongside the tics. The Avon figures use the study's intermediate definition of probable Tourette syndrome. A cohort is a group of people followed over time. The Avon study looked only at obsessive-compulsive disorder and ADHD, not at other conditions. Learning disability is the United States survey's own term, from parents' reports.

• In the United States, 52.0% of children aged zero to seventeen with Tourette syndrome also had anxiety, the most common of the co-occurring conditions the survey asked about, by parent report. Here Tourette syndrome means a doctor or other health care provider had told the parents so. (survey, 2016-2022 data) ²
• In the United States, 21% of children aged three to seventeen with Tourette syndrome also had autism, far above the rate in other children, by parent report in 2021. (survey, 2021 data) ¹⁰
• In the United States, 28% of children aged three to seventeen with Tourette syndrome also had a learning disability, far above the rate in other children, by parent report in 2021. (survey, 2021 data) ¹⁰
• In the United States, 25% of children aged three to seventeen with Tourette syndrome also had depression, far above the rate in other children, by parent report in 2021. (survey, 2021 data) ¹⁰
• In the Avon area of the United Kingdom, 20% of children with probable Tourette syndrome at age thirteen had had obsessive-compulsive disorder by age fourteen, from mothers' questionnaires. This used the intermediate definition, excluding autism and intellectual disability. (cohort study, lifetime (ever), published 2012, data year not stated) ¹¹
• In the Avon area of the United Kingdom, 18% of children with probable Tourette syndrome at age thirteen had had ADHD by age fourteen, from mothers' questionnaires. This used the intermediate definition, excluding autism and intellectual disability. (cohort study, lifetime (ever), published 2012, data year not stated) ¹¹
• In the Avon area of the United Kingdom, 69% of children with probable Tourette syndrome at age thirteen had never had obsessive-compulsive disorder or ADHD by age fourteen, from mothers' questionnaires. This used the intermediate definition, excluding autism and intellectual disability. (cohort study, lifetime (ever), published 2012, data year not stated) ¹¹
• In China, 40.7% of school students aged six to sixteen with Tourette syndrome also had obsessive-compulsive disorder, the most common co-occurring condition, in a survey from 2014 to 2015. (survey, at one point in time, 2014-2015 data) ⁶
• Across studies from 1997 to 2021, 36.4% of patients with Tourette syndrome had depression, in a pooled review of research from several countries. (pooled from prevalence studies, studies 1997-2021) ³
• Among adults with Tourette syndrome, 61.3% had anxiety, the highest rate of any age group in a pooled review of studies from 1997 to 2021. (pooled from prevalence studies, studies 1997-2021) ³
• In Iran, 57.7% of children and adolescents aged six to eighteen with a tic disorder also had another psychiatric disorder, in a national interview survey. (survey, lifetime (ever), published 2022, fieldwork year not stated) ⁸
• Obsessive-compulsive symptoms linked to tic disorders tend to start later than the tics, and remit, or clear up, in only about 40% of patients, a review of tic research reports. (review of studies, published 2012, data year not stated) ¹²

Who gets diagnosed

Diagnosis depends on access to care and on who notices the tics, so recorded rates differ between groups.

• In the United States, a doctor or other health care provider had told the parents of 0.16% of non-Hispanic Black children aged zero to seventeen that the child had Tourette syndrome. That was significantly lower than the 0.28% for non-Hispanic white children. (survey, lifetime (ever), 2016-2022 data) ²

Country and regional figures

These are further national and regional figures, and each names its sample and method. An age- and sex-standardised rate allows for differences in a population's age and sex make-up, so comparisons over time are fair.

• In China, 2.5% of school students aged six to sixteen had a tic disorder at the time of a nationwide diagnostic survey from 2014 to 2015. (survey, at one point in time, 2014-2015 data) ⁶
• In China, 0.4% of school students aged six to sixteen had Tourette syndrome, in a nationwide diagnostic survey from 2014 to 2015. (survey, at one point in time, 2014-2015 data) ⁶
• In the Avon area of the United Kingdom, 0.7% of children aged thirteen without autism or intellectual disability had probable Tourette syndrome under the study's intermediate definition, from their mothers' questionnaire answers. (cohort study, at one point in time, published 2012, data year not stated) ¹¹
• In Iran, 1.5% of children and adolescents aged six to eighteen had had a tic disorder at some point in their lives, in a national interview survey. (survey, lifetime (ever), published 2022, fieldwork year not stated) ⁸
• In Indaiatuba, a Brazilian city, at least 0.4% of school students aged three to fifty-six, excluding special education, had Tourette syndrome, more often males, in a study from 1992 to 1997. (survey, at one point in time, 1992-1997 data) ¹³
• In Indaiatuba, a Brazilian city, at least 2.9% of school students aged three to fifty-six, excluding special education, had a tic disorder of any kind, in a study from 1992 to 1997. (survey, at one point in time, 1992-1997 data) ¹³
• In Taiwan, the age- and sex-standardised prevalence of Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders reached 84.18 per 100,000 people in 2015, having risen since 2007, in national health insurance records. (administrative records, at one point in time, 2015 data) ⁹
• In Taiwan, the age- and sex-standardised rate of new Tourette syndrome and chronic tic diagnoses reached 31.79 per 100,000 people a year among children and adolescents by 2015, in national insurance records. (administrative records, 2015 data) ⁹

Country and regional figures side by side

Each row is one figure for Tourette syndrome from a country, or from one area within it. The studies used different methods: a parent report of a diagnosis, a national school survey, a birth cohort and a school study in one city. Read each row on its own and do not rank them.

How to read these figures

Studies count tic disorders in different ways. Some studies use parent reports of a diagnosis, some screen children at school and then interview them, and some use health records. Each figure names its method.

Many children with tics never receive a diagnosis, so figures based on a diagnosis are lower than those from studies that assess every child.

Some worldwide reviews do not state the age range of the children they pooled. Their figures name the group the review studied rather than give an age band.

The Poland figures and the Taiwan prevalence and new-diagnosis figures are rates per one hundred thousand people from health insurance records, not percentages.

A rise in recorded diagnoses can reflect more awareness, more recording and better access to care, not only more tics.

The anxiety review's title names the years it searched; the newest study it found is a year older than that.

Tics are common, and they are usually most severe in early adolescence and then gradually lessen in early adulthood ¹¹. Tourette syndrome is not a sign of poor parenting or of a child's character.

Help is available when tics or the conditions that come with them get in the way. Behavioural therapy for tics, support for ADHD, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and understanding at home, at school and at work can all make a difference. A therapist can support children, teenagers and adults with tics, and their families.

Cite this page: TherapyRoute. Tourette syndrome statistics worldwide. https://www.therapyroute.com/article/tourette-syndrome-statistics-worldwide-by-therapyroute. Last updated 26 October 2026.

References

1. [1] Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Tourette Syndrome Prevalence; 1986 to 2022. Pediatric Neurology (Jafari et al.), 2022 doi.org.
2. [2] Prevalence of Tourette syndrome among children and adolescents in the United States, 2016-2022. BMC Public Health (Xiong et al.), 2024 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
3. [3] Prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with Tourette syndrome; 1997 to 2022: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Italian Journal of Pediatrics (Abbasi et al.), 2023 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
4. [4] Population prevalence of Tourette syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Movement Disorders (Scharf et al.), 2015 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
5. [5] Prevalence of tic disorders for children in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) (Yang et al.), 2016 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
6. [6] Prevalence and Comorbidity of Tic Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Chinese School Students Aged 6-16: A National Survey. Brain Sciences (Yan et al.), 2022 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
7. [7] Prevalence of tic disorders in Poland: regional and sex differences. Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements (Śmilowska et al.), 2026 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
8. [8] Lifetime Prevalence, Predictors and Comorbidities of Tic Disorders: A Population-Based Survey of Children and Adolescents in Iran. Child Psychiatry and Human Development (Mohammadi et al.), 2022 doi.org.
9. [9] Incidence and prevalence of Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders in Taiwan: a nationwide population-based study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (Chou et al.), 2022 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
10. [10] Prevalence and Comorbidities of Tourette Syndrome in Children and Adolescents: Insights from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). European Psychiatry (Saeidi et al., conference abstract), 2025 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
11. [11] Prevalence of Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tics in the Population-Based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Cohort. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Scharf et al.), 2012 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
12. [12] Review of prevalence studies of tic disorders: methodological caveats. Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements (Cubo et al.), 2012 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
13. [13] The prevalence of tic disorders in children and adolescents in Brazil. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria (Alves et al.), 2014 doi.org.