Average PHQ-9 score: how Korean adults score on the depression check-in

The PHQ-9 is a screening tool that asks how often you have had nine symptoms of depression over the last two weeks, scores each from 0 to 3 and adds them into a total from 0 to 27. It is widely used in clinics and national health surveys, and the mind.io depression check-in (PHQ-9) uses the PHQ-9’s nine items and scoring.

In 10,759 Korean adults who answered the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2014 and 2016, the average was 2.74, and 6.2% scored 10 or more. In the 2025 Korea Community Health Survey, which interviewed about 230,000 adults, the rate at 10 or more reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency was 3.4%.

This guide sets out the figures from the two national surveys, differences by sex and age, how to compare your own score, and what to keep in mind when reading the numbers.

Shin and colleagues (2020) analyzed the PHQ-9 scores of 10,759 adults aged 19 and over in the 2014 and 2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). KNHANES is a national survey of households drawn by probability sampling, and the authors applied the survey weights so the figures stand for Korean adults as a whole.

The average was 2.74, and the most common score was 0, at 35.3%. 78.8% scored 4 or less and 93.8% scored 9 or less, so 6.2% scored 10 or more. The authors note that this is similar to Germany (6.1%), higher than Hong Kong (4.3%) and lower than the United States (8.1%). Because scores bunch up at 0, the share in each range shows the spread better than the average does. The table below turns the paper’s percentile ranks into the share in each mind.io result range.

The Korea Community Health Survey, run by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), interviews about 230,000 adults aged 19 and over at home each year, about 900 per public health center. The rate at 10 or more on the PHQ-9, standardized for age so that years can be compared, stayed similar from 2.7% in 2017 to 2.6% in 2020, rose to 3.1% in 2021 and 3.5% in 2022, and was 3.4% in 2025 (KDCA, 2026).

A study of over 210,000 people in the same survey’s 2019 round reported an unweighted average PHQ-9 score of 2.1 (standard deviation 3.0), and 1.9 in 2020 (Kim and colleagues, 2022). Both the average and the share at 10 or more are clearly lower than in KNHANES. The two surveys differ in period and method, and the agency notes that because interviewers ask the questions in person, answers to sensitive items may be under-reported.

Women scored higher than men in both surveys. In KNHANES the average was 2.17 for men and 3.29 for women, and in the 2025 community survey 2.8% of men and 4.7% of women scored 10 or more.

By age the pattern was U-shaped: higher among younger and older adults, lower in middle age. In the 2025 community survey, the share at 10 or more was 3.8% in the 20s, 4.0% in the 30s, 3.3% in the 40s, 2.9% in the 50s, 3.0% in the 60s and 5.8% at 70 and over. People living alone were at 7.0%, more than twice the 3.1% in households of two or more.

The mind.io depression check-in adds your answers to the nine PHQ-9 items, each scored 0 to 3, into a total from 0 to 27, and groups it into minimal (0 to 4), mild (5 to 9), moderate (10 to 14), moderately severe (15 to 19) and severe (20 to 27) depression symptoms. The surveys above also add nine symptoms scored 0 to 3, so the numbers can be set roughly side by side. But the wording and answer options differ a little between versions, and a national survey with an interviewer present is a different setting from answering mind.io alone online.

For example, 0 to 4 is the range where about eight in ten Korean adults (78.8%) sit, and 5 to 9 holds about 15%. A score of 10 or more was 6.2% in KNHANES and 3.4% in the 2025 community survey. 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, or when item 9 (thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way) is answered anything other than “Not at all.” Whatever your score, if you have thoughts of harming yourself, please do not carry them 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 PHQ-9 is a screening tool, so a score alone does not diagnose depression. 10 is widely used as the point to suggest a professional assessment, but whether it is depression is decided through an interview with a professional.

The KNHANES analysis uses 2014 and 2016 data, and the community survey figures span 2017 to 2025 (its averages are from 2019 and 2020). The two surveys use different methods, so their numbers can differ even for the same period, and people staying in hospitals or care facilities are not included. mind.io’s English items follow the published wording, and its other languages follow the official translations. Rather than reading small decimal differences, use the comparison to see roughly which range your score falls in.

Even with a low score, if a heavy mood has lasted more than two weeks or daily life feels hard to manage, it is fine to ask for help. See also burnout versus depression, and if anxiety is on your mind too, the anxiety check-in (GAD-7) and average GAD-7 scores.

Q. What is the average PHQ-9 score? A. In 10,759 Korean adults in the 2014 and 2016 KNHANES, the average was 2.74 out of 27. Respondents to the 2019 community health survey averaged 2.1 (unweighted).

Q. How many people score 10 or more on the PHQ-9? A. 6.2% in KNHANES and 3.4% in the 2025 community health survey. The share was higher among women, people aged 70 and over, and people living alone.

Q. Does a PHQ-9 score of 10 or more mean depression? A. Not by itself. 10 is a screening point for suggesting a talk with a professional, and diagnosis is made through an interview with one. If you scored 10 or more, or answered item 9 with anything other than “Not at all,” please talk with a professional.

References: Shin, C., Ko, Y.-H., An, H., Yoon, H.-K., & Han, C. (2020), Normative data and psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 in a nationally representative Korean population, BMC Psychiatry 20, 194, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02613-0; Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (2026, April 14), In-depth analysis of depression indicators from the 2025 Community Health Survey (press release) (in Korean), https://kdca.go.kr/bbs/kdca/42/310745/artclView.do; Kim, S. Y., Yoo, D. M., Min, C., & Choi, H. G. (2022), Assessment of the difference in depressive symptoms of the Korean adult population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using a community health survey, Journal of Affective Disorders 300, 130-136, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.107; Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001), The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure, Journal of General Internal Medicine 16(9), 606-613, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.