Short quote from NICE “Version for Professionals” :
Estimates of lifetime prevalence vary but according to a US study, 12% of adults in the US will have social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. please see the NHS NICE documentation:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg159/resources/social-anxiety-disorder-recognition-assessment-and-treatment-pdf-35109639699397
Full quote from NICE “Version for Professionals” :
Social anxiety disorder (previously known as ‘social phobia’) is one of the most common of the anxiety disorders. Estimates of lifetime prevalence vary but according to a US study, 12% of adults in the US will have social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives, compared with estimates of around 6% for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), 5% for panic disorder, 7% for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 2% for obsessive–compulsive disorder. There is a significant degree of comorbidity between social anxiety disorder and other mental health problems, most notably depression (19%), substance-use disorder (17%), GAD (5%), panic disorder (6%), and PTSD (3%).
Even on the stricter criteria that’s 1.59 MILLION adults in the UK this year.
The NICE full guidance goes further :
Twelve-month prevalence rates as high as 7% have been reported for social anxiety disorder (Kessler et al., 2005b). Using strict criteria and face-to-face interviews in the US, the lifetime and yearly prevalence figures are halved to 5% and 3%, respectively (Grant et al., 2005)
Mentioned as 3rd most common MH condition within this article :
https://www.bmj.com/content/327/7414/515
AND
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK327674/).
where it quotes “Kessler et al”.