| February 5, 2004 | Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST) | 21/2004 |
More than half of Australia's youth live at home
In 2001, 59% of Australian youth (aged 15-24 year olds) lived in the parental home, according to a new report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Young males were more likely than young females to be living in the parental home, with the largest difference being in the 20-24 year age group (45% of males and 34% of females).
Other key findings from the report include:
- Young people aged 20-24 years were more likely (60%) to have moved residence between 1996 and 2001, than 18-19 year olds (46%) and 15-17 year olds (37%). In comparison, 40% of the population aged 25 years and over had a different address in 2001 than in 1996.
- Youth participation in education increased between 1996 and 2001. The largest increase was in higher education, with participation up by four percentage points since 1996 (13% to 17%). Participation in secondary schooling increased from 24% in 1996 to 25% in 2001, and the Technical and Further Education sector from 8% to 9%.
- Over one-third (36%) of young people who attended an educational institution full-time were in paid employment, with the majority of these working part-time (91%). For youth aged 15-17 years attending an educational institution full-time, 28% were in paid employment, with 93% working part-time.
- Of all youth who reported their income, over half (53%) had a weekly income of less than $200 and 18% received $500 or more a week.
- More than two-thirds (68%) of all youth reported a religious affiliation, 19% reported they had no religion and a further 10% did not state an affiliation with any religion.
- In 2001, Australia's youth collectively spoke in excess of 200 languages. The most commonly spoken languages, other than English, were Cantonese and Arabic including Lebanese (both 10%), Mandarin, Vietnamese, Italian and Greek (all 7%).
The report draws on 2001 Census data, which counted 2.6 million people aged 15-24 years in Australia. This equated to 14% of the total population, which was slightly lower than the 16% recorded in 1991.
Further details are in Census of Population and Housing: Australia's Youth, 2001 (cat. no. 2059.0).
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