Australia youth are ‘doing well’
09 September 2015 by News Desk
Young people in Australia are getting higher school grades and better jobs while saying ‘no’ to drink and drugs.
That’s according to latest official figures that show educational achievement increasing while smoking, ‘binge drinking’ and illegal drug use is decreasing.
The number of young people who smoked daily has fallen from 19% in 2001 to 9.1% in 2013, while the number of young people aged 12-17 who who ‘say no’ and abstain from drinking alcohol increased from 54% in 2004 to 72% in 2013.
The figures also show a rise in the number of young people aged 20-24 with either a Year 12 qualification, Certificate II or higher, up from 81% in 2004 to 86% in 2014.
Across the country more than 90% of young people aged 15-24 were in education, employment or training in 2014, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that tracks the health and wellbeing of young people aged 12 to 24 years in 38 key areas of health.
Darrell Todd of thinkingaustralia says: “Young people are the future of Australia and these latest official figures show that Australian youth are taking this responsibility seriously, not just for themselves but for wider society.”
