Statistical Snapshot

State of Australia’s Young People report statistical snapshot

Who are Australia’s young people?

  • One in five Australians are aged 12–24 years and 28% of all households contain a young person.
  • Two in three 12–19-year-olds live at home with two parents (66%), and a further 20% live with one parent.
  • Indigenous people account for 3.6% of all 15–19-year-olds and 2.8% of all young people aged 20–24 years.
  • One in five Australian young people were born overseas – mostly in Asia (6.6%) or Europe (2.6%).
  • One in five speak a language other than English at home – mostly an Asian language (10%) or another European language (4%)
  • 1 in 100 young people are homeless

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How many young people are in education and what educational attainment do young people have who have already left education?

  • In 2006, around 63% of young people aged 12–24 years were engaged in some form of education (43% in secondary school, 20% in tertiary education, and 6% in VET).
  • Of the 15-24-year-olds not enrolled in study in 2006 (around 1.1 million), two-thirds had completed Year 12, attained a VET certificate, or completed a university degree. One in five only reached Year 10 or below.
  • In 2004, the Year 12 completion rate for school students living in areas in the bottom three tenths of the SES scale was 59%, compared to 79% for the top three (AIHW, 2008c: 122).
  • Just over half of all Indigenous 15-19-year-olds are enrolled in education compared to 76% of non-Indigenous 15-19-year-olds (Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2009).
  • Only one-quarter of Indigenous 15–19-year-olds not currently attending school and one-third of 20–24-year-olds have completed Year 12 (Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2009).
  • 14% of Indigenous 20–24-year-olds are in post-secondary education, compared to 35% of non-Indigenous 20–24-year-olds (Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2009).

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To what extent are young people working, looking for work, or out of the labour force?

  • In 2006, 44% of 15-19-year-olds and 69% of 20-24-year-olds were employed (ABS Census, 2006).
  • Only 31% of Indigenous teenagers were employed, compared to nearly 44% of non-Indigenous 15–19-year-olds;
  • Just under 50% of Indigenous young adults aged 20–24 years were employed, in comparison with 69% of non-Indigenous young adults;
  • Indigenous young people who are employed are more likely than their counterparts in the wider Australian population to be in part-time, low paid, insecure jobs (Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2009).
  • The latest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 11.9% for 15–24-year-olds (August 2009, includes young people in education looking for work, ABS, 2009b).
  • 26% of Indigenous 15–19-year-olds and 19% of 20–24-year-olds were unemployed in 2006 (Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 2009).
  • More Indigenous young people (24%) highly valued getting a job, compared to non-Indigenous young people (16%) (Mission Australia, 2008).

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What factors impact on young people’s income?

  • Levels of personal income steadily increase between 15 and 24 years of age.
  • Young women’s income was significantly less than young men’s. At 24 years, women have almost peaked in their earning capacity, while men’s earnings increase considerably as they get older.
  • Just over half 18–24-year-olds have some consumer debt, mostly car loans or other personal loans, and about half of those have a credit card.
  • About one-fifth of young people with credit cards hardly ever or never pay the full balance every month.
  • More than a quarter of 12–17-year-olds surveyed in 2007 owed money, and 36% had been in debt (mostly to parents, family members or friends).

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How much time do young people spend on unpaid domestic work and care?

  • Young women aged 15-19-years-old spend 6.5 hours in domestic work and care, compared to 4.2 for men in the same age group, while women aged 20–24-year-olds spend 13.3 hours, compared to 4.9 for men.
  • Although the time females spend on domestic activities increases as they get older, it barely fluctuates as men age.
  • Male 15–19-year-olds, who do not work or study, spend the most time on domestic activities at 21 hours per week. However, male 20–24-year-olds out of work and study only contributing an average of 9 hours per week in domestic work.
  • Females who participated in neither education nor paid work had the highest levels of domestic activity at 22 hours for 15–19-year-olds and 53 hours for 20–24-year-olds.

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Overall, how productive are young people?

  • Young people who combine paid work, education and domestic activities spend large proportions of their week on productive activity. 15–19-year-olds in this situation approach or exceed 40 hours per week and 20–24-year-olds approach or exceed 50 hours per week.
  • Male and female teenagers aged 15-19-years, who do not work or study, spend approximately 20 hours per week on domestic and care responsibilities.
  • The gender division is stark for 20–24-year-olds not working or studying, with females spending 53 hours per week on domestic work and care, compared to only 9 hours for their male counterparts.

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To what extent do young people use technology?

  • Young people (aged 8–17 years) watched approximately 2 hours of television each day.
  • In 2007, nine out of 10 Australian families had an internet connection and three quarters had broadband internet.
  • Young people (aged 8–17 years) spent an average of 1¼ hours online each day.
  • Young women were more likely to use the internet for communication; young men were more likely to play computer games.
  • In 2007, nine out of ten 17-year-old Australians used a mobile telephone, with young women more likely to have a mobile than young men.
  • Young people from non-English speaking backgrounds and young men were less likely to use mobile phones and more likely to report being reluctant to use a mobile phone.
  • Young people from relatively poorer areas used their mobile more frequently than those from the relatively wealthier areas.

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Why are family relationships and friendships important and how much time do young people spend with family and friends?

  • On average, young people spend 40 hours a week with their family and most report having close relationships.
  • Factors impacting on the nature of family relationships include gender, age, location and cultural background.
  • Friends are an important source of support for young people and they highly value their social networks.
  • Most young people (94%) report having friends they can confide in and, on average spend 20 hours per week with their friends.
  • 2% of 12–19-year-olds and 20% of 20–24-year-olds live with a partner.

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What kinds of leisure activities do young people participate in and how much time is invested in these activities?

  • Leisure time accounts for approximately 24% of 15–19-year-olds time and 21% of 20–24-year-olds time, and as productive time increases (work, education and caring), leisure time decreases.
  • Over two-thirds of young people engage in some form of physical activity, although less than half engage in moderate to vigorous exercise, as is recommended.

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To what extent do young people volunteer and take part in civic activities?

  • Around one in three young people volunteer, but the proportion of young people who volunteer regularly is low.
  • Reasons young people give for volunteering include: to help others or the community, personal satisfaction, to do something worthwhile, and personal or family reasons.
  • Young people do not believe that compulsory programs qualify as volunteering, and many feel exploited and stigmatised by them.

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Are young people civically engaged?

  • Young people in 2006 were found to be slightly less likely to engage in civic activities than older people.
  • Only 80% of 18–25-year-olds are enrolled to vote, in comparison with 95% of the eligible population.
  • Youth is not the only factor in this comparatively low level of enrolment; disadvantage and marginalisation are relevant as well.
  • Young people aged 12–25 years from diverse backgrounds – Indigenous, CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse), low SES, disability, and out-of-home care – are not widely involved in decision-making processes, despite official support.
  • Young people don’t feel included in the mainstream or adult community

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Are young people religious?

  • Most identified as Christian (58%), and most Christians were either Catholics or Anglicans.
  • The largest non-Christian religious affiliation was Islam.

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What types of disability and health problems do young people have?

  • Almost a quarter of young people are either overweight or obese, and Indigenous young people are more likely to be obese than non-Indigenous youth.
  • One in four young people 16–24 years (26%) have a mental disorder in a given year.
  • 75% of adult mental and substance use disorders begin in childhood or adolescence.
  • One in three of all young people experience moderate to high psychological distress.
  • One in four young people who do not have a mental disorder are experiencing moderate to high psychological distress.
  • The total number of young people with a disability is not clear. National surveys report that approximately one in ten young people have a disability. However, given the numbers of young people with a mental disorder, physical health problem and/or cognitive disability, the rate is likely to be much higher
  • Almost 1 in 3 young people are an unhealthy weight (either over or under weight)
  • Young people with high levels of psychological distress are much less likely to be in paid work or education than people with no, low or medium levels of distress.
  • Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people. About 8 in every 100,000 young people 15–24 years committed suicide in 2007. Young men are more likely to commit suicide than young women.

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How many young people drink alcohol and how much do they drink?

  • Approximately one in five 15–17-year-old males and one in ten 15–27-year-old females report drinking at least once a week.
  • Among young people who drink, many consume 5 or more standard drinks on an average drinking occasion (55% males and 30% females 15–17 years; and 52% males and 37% females 18-24 years).
  • A large number of young people are drinking at levels which place them at risk (NHMRC, 2009) (32% of male 15-17 year olds; 21% of female 15-17 year olds; 52% of male 18-24-year-olds; 37% of female 18-24-year-olds).
  • Male and female teenagers aged 15–19 years had the highest hospitalisation rates for acute intoxication from alcohol among all age groups
  • 18–24 years males are also twice as likely to have a substance use disorder as females in the same age group (22% compared to 16%).

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To what extent do young people smoke?

  • Just over one in ten young people aged 15–17 years reported smoking cigarettes or other tobacco products. 5% of 15–17-year-olds smoke at least weekly.
  • 27% of 18–24-year-olds smoke on a daily basis, compared to 50% of Indigenous young people in the same age group.

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How many young people have used illicit drugs and what drugs do they most commonly use?

  • Approximately one in five 16-year-olds and two-fifths of 18–24-year-olds had used illicit drugs.
  • 30% of young people try cannabis for the first time before they reach the age of 15 years. In contrast, first use of stimulants most frequently occurs between the ages of 19 and 24 years (27%).
  • About 5% of young people aged 18–24 years are considered to have a cannabis abuse disorder; 4% are considered to have a stimulant abuse disorder.

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How many young people drive dangerously?

  • Men aged 20–24-year-old were seven times more likely to be involved in adjudication for dangerous or negligent driving than women in the same age group.
  • The proportion of young people who reported driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol decreased from 13.4% to 12.1% between 2004 and 2007.
  • Just under 3% of Australians aged 14 years or older reported driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of illicit drugs in 2007.

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How many young people have sex and how safe and consensual is the sex?

  • One in four Year 10 students and just over half of all Year 12 students reported having engaged in sexual intercourse.
  • Fewer than one in ten students (6%) reported having had sex that resulted in a pregnancy.
  • Approximately one in three young people who had engaged in sexual intercourse reported that they had had unwanted sex at some time in their lives.

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To what extent are young people victims of crime and how safe do they feel?

  • Regardless of crime levels, almost one quarter of young people feel unsafe walking home alone in their local area at night. Young women and young people with disability are most likely to feel unsafe.
  • Young people are more likely to become victims of some violent crimes (including sexual offences and assaults) and are less likely than older victims to report a violent crime
  • There is increasing evidence that communications technology is being used to isolate young people, with increased in reported ‘cyber bullying’.

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View the State of Australia’s Young People Report

Australian Government - Youth Related websites (external links)