Page 228 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

shows an over 20% increase in the urbanised populous worldwide. Moreover,

the United Nations (2018) predicted that almost two-thirds of the world
population will have shifted to urban areas by the mid-century. Moreover,

between 2018-2050, the urban population will grow by 2.5 billion urban

dwellers. The UN has also stated that the effect will be most visible in lower
and lower-middle-income countries between the current year and 2050.

However, the increase in population with a lower standard of life will threaten
the mental health of the population. They have also indicated a visible

relationship between an increase in urbanisation and mental health issues in

low and middle-income countries.

The United Nations further states that mental health issues related to
urbanisation arise due to lower levels of engagement in physical activities and

high levels of social stressors, including violence, poverty, and social
isolation. Moreover, another cause is the environmental conditions in urban

areas, such as air and noise pollution and crowding. Thus, the impact of

urbanisation on mental health is caused by economic, psychological,
physiological, cultural, and genetic factors (United Nations, 2018). It states

that 66% of the global population will be situated in urban areas by 2050, and

the factors that cause mental health issues in the urban population need to be
identified (Nawrath et al., 2022). The risk of a higher burden of mental illness

will have adverse effects, including high costs, long-term incapacity, increased
mortality, and improved overall human suffering. As a result, according to the

data on disease, 264 million people worldwide suffer from depression, while

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