--- title: Global Youth Wellbeing: Australia Teens Have It the Best description: Aussie teens are having a way better time than other kids, according to the Global Youth Wellbeing Index, which looked at 30 countries canonical: https://time.com/49426/global-youth-wellbeing-index/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-04T05:56:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:08:10.175Z article:section: Health og:title: Global Youth Wellbeing: Australia Teens Have It the Best og:description: Aussie teens are having a way better time than other kids, according to the Global Youth Wellbeing Index, which looked at 30 countries og:url: https://time.com/49426/global-youth-wellbeing-index/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11b5bb8cdbde3b88/698688ed06f2c13b9a32e37e/451955513.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Australian Holiday Makers Celebrate 'Schoolies' Week In Bali og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Global Youth Wellbeing: Australia Teens Have It the Best twitter:description: Aussie teens are having a way better time than other kids, according to the Global Youth Wellbeing Index, which looked at 30 countries twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11b5bb8cdbde3b88/698688ed06f2c13b9a32e37e/451955513.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Top 5 Places to Be a Teen (Sorry Kids, the U.S. is #6) by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Apr 4, 2014 5:56 AM UTC  Australian teenagers let their hair down in Bali—a popular destination for school breaks. Aussie teens are top of a newly released list of global youth wellbeing Australian teenagers let their hair down in Bali—a popular destination for school breaks. Aussie teens are top of a newly released list of global youth wellbeingAgung Parameswara—Getty Images by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Apr 4, 2014 5:56 AM UTC Despite the never-ending stream of TV shows glorifying teen life in America, kids in the U.S. don’t have it the best, according to a [new study](http://www.youthindex.org/reports/globalyouthwellbeingindex.pdf). In fact, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the International Youth Foundation, said this week that Australia scored the highest on the “Global Youth Wellbeing Index” released this week. The study vetted 30 countries in total and is based on a smattering of indicators including economic opportunity for youth and access to education, health, information and communications, safety and security. Here are the top 5 rankings: 1. Australia 2. Sweden 3. South Korea 4. United Kingdom 5. Germany The United States came in at no. 6, followed by Japan, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. 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