Average GAD-7 score: how adults in Korea and Germany score on the anxiety check-in

The GAD-7 is a screening questionnaire that asks how often, over the last two weeks, you have had seven symptoms of anxiety such as worry and tension, scoring each from 0 to 3 for a total from 0 to 21. It is widely used in clinics and national health surveys, and the mind.io anxiety check-in (GAD-7) uses the GAD-7’s seven items and scoring.

Among 5,191 Korean adults in the 2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 4.5% scored 10 or more (a share of the sample, without survey weights). In a German survey drawn to represent the country (2020–21), the average was 2.18 and 4.3% scored 10 or more.

This guide sets out the figures from the two surveys, the gap between women and men, what a score of 10 means, how to read your own score, and what to keep in mind when reading the numbers. A score is not a diagnosis; it is a way to take stock of how you are doing right now.

Cho and colleagues (2024) looked at the 5,191 adults aged 19 and over who answered the GAD-7, with every answer needed for their analysis, in the 2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). KNHANES is a national survey in which the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency studies people from a probability sample of households across the country.

4,395 people scored 0 to 4 (84.7%), 560 scored 5 to 9 (10.8%), 141 scored 10 to 14 (2.7%) and 95 scored 15 to 21 (1.8%). 4.5% scored 10 or more: 3.1% of men and 5.7% of women. These shares are the counts in the paper divided by the sample, so they are not national estimates with the survey weights applied; without weights, the sample’s make-up (55.7% women, for instance) differs from the population, so national shares may differ. The paper does not give an average score.

Kliem and colleagues (2025) visited households chosen at random across Germany between December 2020 and March 2021 and had 2,519 people aged 16 and over (50.3 on average) fill in the GAD-7. The average was 2.18 out of 21 (standard deviation 3.28), and 47.8% scored 0.

By range, 81.3% scored 0 to 4, 14.4% 5 to 9, 3.3% 10 to 14 and 1.0% 15 to 21, so 4.3% scored 10 or more: 3.8% of men and 4.8% of women. The authors note that this average is clearly lower than in the pandemic-era national samples from other countries that they cite (Shevlin and colleagues, 2022: the UK 5.25, Ireland 5.03, Spain 5.86, Italy 5.73). The table below sets the shares for Korea and Germany side by side.

10 is a range boundary proposed by Spitzer and colleagues (2006), who developed the GAD-7, and is widely used as the point at which a professional assessment is recommended. In a study that compared the Korean GAD-7 with structured diagnostic interviews in 1,157 adults (Ahn and colleagues, 2019), a score of 10 or more picked up 72.2% of people with generalized anxiety disorder, and 89.3% of people without it scored below 10.

In that study, 36.3% of those scoring 10 or more were actually diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. That share depends on how common the disorder is in a sample, and this one was recruited through online ads and hospital referrals (7.7% had generalized anxiety disorder). Scores can also rise with other anxiety, such as panic or social anxiety, or with depression, so a high screening score is a sign that talking it over is worthwhile, not a diagnosis. The same study found the best balance at 8 or more in the Korean sample: 81.1% of people with the disorder scored 8 or more, and 84.5% of people without it scored below 8. Even at 8 or 9, if worry is unsettling daily life, it is worth talking it over.

The mind.io anxiety check-in adds your answers to the seven GAD-7 items, each scored 0 to 3, into a total from 0 to 21, and reads 0 to 4 as minimal, 5 to 9 as mild, 10 to 14 as moderate and 15 to 21 as severe anxiety symptoms. The surveys above also add seven symptoms scored 0 to 3, so the numbers can be set roughly side by side, but the countries, translations and survey methods differ. A national survey with an interviewer present is also a different setting from answering mind.io alone online, and Kliem and colleagues note that surveys recruited online found much higher anxiety scores.

For example, 0 to 4 holds a little over eight in ten adults in both surveys, and 10 or more was 4.5% in the Korean sample and 4.3% in Germany. A less common score does not mean something is wrong with you. But a score of 10 or more is a sign that now is a good time to talk with a professional.

mind.io suggests talking with a professional when the total is 10 or more. If anxiety feels too much to bear, or you have thoughts of harming yourself, please do not carry it alone: in the US or Canada, call or text 988; in the UK or Ireland, call Samaritans on 116 123; elsewhere, find a line at findahelpline.com. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.

The GAD-7 is a screening tool, so a score alone does not diagnose an anxiety disorder. A diagnosis is made through an interview with a professional.

The Korean figures are counts from the 2021 KNHANES sample divided without survey weights, and the German figures come from a representative sample in 2020–21. Both surveys took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the countries, translations and methods differ. We have not yet found a national rate published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from the GAD-7. Rather than reading small decimal differences, use the figures to see roughly which range your score falls in.

Even with a low score, if worry and tension last more than two weeks or daily life becomes hard to manage, it is fine to ask for help. If low mood comes up often too, see the depression check-in (PHQ-9) and average PHQ-9 scores.

Q. What is the average GAD-7 score? A. In a German survey drawn to represent the country (2020–21), the average was 2.18 out of 21. The paper on Korea’s 2021 national survey does not give an average; 4.5% of its sample scored 10 or more (unweighted).

Q. How many people score 10 or more on the GAD-7? A. 4.5% of the 2021 Korean national survey sample (unweighted; 3.1% of men, 5.7% of women), and 4.3% in the representative German sample.

Q. Does a GAD-7 score of 10 or more mean an anxiety disorder? A. Not by itself. In the Korean study, 36.3% of those scoring 10 or more were diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, and others may score high because of other anxiety or depression. If you scored 10 or more, please talk with a professional.

References: Cho, A., Um, Y. J., Cho, J. J., Yeo, Y. H., & Suh, H. N. (2024), The effects of Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale on health behavior among Korean adults: The 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2021) (in Korean), Korean Journal of Family Practice 14(2), 75-81, https://doi.org/10.21215/kjfp.2024.14.2.75; Kliem, S., Sachser, C., Lohmann, A., Baier, D., Brähler, E., Fegert, J. M., & Gündel, H. (2025), Psychometric evaluation and community norms of the GAD-7, based on a representative German sample, Frontiers in Psychology 16, 1526181, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1526181; Ahn, J.-K., Kim, Y., & Choi, K.-H. (2019), The psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Korean version of GAD-7 and GAD-2, Frontiers in Psychiatry 10, 127, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00127; Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006), A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7, Archives of Internal Medicine 166(10), 1092-1097, https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.