According to a recent research initiative, Australia has bee named as the number one place in the world to be a teenager. This will be pleasing to hear for anyone planning to move with their family to Australia. Aussie life is top for teenagers in terms of wellbeing in the Global Youth Wellbeing Index. The country was rated highly for factors such as economic opportunities for young people, access to health services and education facilities. Australia also scored highly for Information and Communications Technology and providing a safe and secure environment for young people.
The research was undertaken by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
In summary, the top ten best places to be a teenager according to the report are:
- Australia
- Sweden
- South Korea
- UK
- Germany
- USA
- Japan
- Spain
- Saudi Arabia
- Thailand
A total of 30 countries were evaluated for the research and 40 indicators were used for the analysis. The bottom ten in the rankings were Morocco, Ghana, the Philippines, South Africa, Egypt, Russia, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. There were some interesting findings in the research, such as the country of Uganda whereby despite difficult conditions for young people, they are still optimistic about their future and future prospects. The report was published in April 2014. Young people were classed as those aged 10 – 24.
The Australia country profile contained in the research shows that young people here benefit from access to education and health services. Some young people however currently have negative feelings about the future and their prospects. This could be due to the recent Global Economic Recession affecting attitudes and aspirations of young people.
So what is life like as a teenager in Australia? There will certainly be a lot of access to sports and outdoor activities in this sports obsessed nation. Moving abroad is a good time for teenagers to take up a new sport or hobby as it’s a great way to meet people and make new friends. Teenagers emigrating from the UK will benefit from increased access to sports which they may not have been able to try before such as surfing. Many Australian cities also have a lot of art, cultural and music events every year. Adelaide for example hosts The Adelaide Fringe and The Adelaide Festival among others. Teenagers living in Australia who are musical or artistic won’t be short of opportunities to get involved in artistic pursuits.
For a full copy of the report including country profiles, visit the Youth Index website www.youthindex.org.
