Children and Youth in Sport
How Australian children and youth play and participate in sport.
The early years of a child’s life, adolescence, and early adulthood are crucial periods in which to establish lifelong behaviours. 1
Playing sport during these years can provide lifelong benefits to physical, mental, social, and economic wellbeing. Children and youth who grow up playing sport are more likely to remain active as adults, and to have improved resilience and social connectedness. 1, 2
In line with the AusPlay survey and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports we have defined children as those aged 0-14, and youth as those aged 15-24. These ages cover important milestones, up to and including university studies and early employment when sport participation can drop significantly. There will be some cross-over between groups depending on research and data available. 3, 4, 5
In June 2025 Australia’s estimated resident population was 27,613,654 people, 17% (4,803,858) were aged 0-14 years, and 13% (3,519,227) were aged 15-24 years. 6
Participation - 2025
* For more data, including different time periods, access the AusPlay Data Portal, opens in a new tab.
Children aged 0-14
An estimated 1,833,000 (38%) of children aged 0-14 participated in organised outside-of-school hours, sport-related activity at least once a week. 7
An estimated 977,000 (40%) of boys and 853,000 (37%) of girls aged 0-14 participated in organised outside-of-school hours, sport-related activity at least once a week. 7
Youth aged 15-24
An estimated 1,491,000 (43%) of Australians aged 15-24 participated in a sport-related activity at least once a week. 7
An estimated 890,000 (50%) of males and 591,000 (36%) of females aged 15-24 participated in a sport-related activity at least once a week. 7
An estimated 206,000 (21%) of individuals aged 15-17 and 505,000 (21%) of those aged 18-24, were involved in a non-playing role at least once in 2025. 8
Estimated sport-related participation by age group 7
Estimated sport-related state/territory participation 7
Children (0-14) - organised outside-of-school hours, sport-related activity at least once a week Youth (15-24) - sport-related activity at least once a week
Children 0-14 | Youth 15-24 | |
|---|---|---|
Australian Capital Territory | 34,000 (40%) | 31,000 (44%)* |
New South Wales | 540,000 (36%) | 493,000 (45%) |
Northern Territory | 20,000 (37%)* | 11,000 (47%)* |
Queensland | 381,000 (38%) | 256,000 (39%) |
South Australia | 129,000 (41%) | 106,000 (49%) |
Tasmania | 31,000 (34%) | 28,000 (38%) |
Victoria | 489,000 (40%) | 378,000 (41%) |
Western Australia | 210,000 (38%) | 189,000 (46%) |
*estimate has a relative margin of error between 50% and 100% and should be used with caution
An estimated 61,000 (24% of) Australian youth [aged 18-24 years] with disability participated in a sport-related activity at least once a week. 7
An estimated 67,000 (40% of) First Nations' youth [aged 18-24 years] participated in a sport-related activity at least once a week. 7
An estimated 226,000 (37% of) Australian youth [aged 18-24 years] who speak a language other than English (LOTE) at home participated in a sport-related activity at least once a week. 7
Most popular sport-related activities with estimated annual participants 9
Children (0-14) - organised outside-of-school hours sport-related activity Youth (15-24) - sport-related activity
Children aged 0-8 | Children aged 9-14 | Youth aged 15-17 | Youth aged 18-24 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Topic focus
Factors influencing participation
There are hundreds of factors that can influence sports participation or non-participation.
REFERENCES
- Adolescent participation in sports and adult physical activity, opens in a new tab, Tuija Tammelin, Simo Näyhä, Andrew Hills, et al., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 24(1), pp.22-28, (2003) quoted in Intergenerational Review of Australian Sport (2017), BCG Consulting for the Australian Sports Commission, (2017).
- The value and benefits of sport: Social and mental wellbeing, Clearinghouse for Sport, (accessed 12 May 2026).
- AusPlay methodology, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 12 May 2026).
- Health of Children, opens in a new tab, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (updated 16 April 2024).
- Health of young people, opens in a new tab, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (updated 16 April 2024).
- National, state and territory population: September 2025, opens in a new tab, Australian Bureau of Statistics (19 March 2026).
- AusPlay Data Portal: Sport-related participation – frequency of participation, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 1 May 2026).
- AusPlay Data Portal: Non-playing roles, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 1 May 2026).
- AusPlay Data Portal: Participation by activity, opens in a new tab, Australian Sports Commission, (accessed 1 May 2026).
Related Topics
Last updated: 12 May 2026 Content disclaimer: See Clearinghouse for Sport disclaimer
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