While most young people rate their health as good or excellent and happiness levels have improved in recent years, fewer have medical aid cover and most continue to rely on public healthcare facilities, according to Statistics South Africa.
Image: Supplied
South Africa's youth say they are healthy and happy, but the data paints a more complicated picture.
While most young people rate their health as good or excellent and happiness levels have improved in recent years, fewer have medical aid cover and most continue to rely on public healthcare facilities, according to Statistics South Africa.
The agency's latest analysis of youth health patterns found that medical aid coverage among young people has fallen to less than one in 10, while three-quarters now rely on public health clinics for care. At the same time, tuberculosis, HIV-related illnesses and assault remain the leading underlying causes of death among young South Africans.
Statistics South Africa defines youth as people aged between 15 and 34 years. In 2025, South Africa's population stood at 63.1 million, of which almost 21 million were young people.
“Despite the challenges they face, most young people report positive perceptions of their own health,” Statistics South Africa said. More than nine in 10 rated their health as good or excellent across both survey periods, while fewer than one in 10 described it as fair and less than one in 20 considered it poor.
Young people also reported improved levels of happiness. Just over four in 10 said they were happy in 2022/23, up from just under four in 10 in 2014/15.
"Fewer young people described themselves as less happy, while nearly 30% indicated that they felt happier overall. Together, these trends point to a modest improvement in perceived wellbeing over time," said Statistics South Africa.
However, access to healthcare appears to have become more constrained.
Medical aid coverage among young people declined from one in eight to fewer than one in 10 over the survey period. Young adults aged between 20 and 24 had the lowest levels of cover, with fewer than one in 12 belonging to a medical scheme.
Too few young South Africans have access to medical aid.
Image: Statistics South Africa
As fewer young people belonged to medical schemes, reliance on public healthcare facilities increased.
Three-quarters of young people now use public health clinics as their primary point of care, up from just under seven in 10 previously. At the same time, the proportion visiting private doctors and specialists fell from almost one in five to around one in eight.
The data also showed some encouraging trends in reproductive health, with the number of births among girls aged 15 to 19 declining between 2023 and 2024.
"These persistent trends highlight ongoing health risks faced by youth, even as some indicators, such as perceived wellbeing and teenage pregnancy, show signs of improvement," the agency said.
Mortality figures, however, reveal persistent risks.
Young men were disproportionately affected by non-natural causes of death. Among those aged 15 to 29, almost half of all deaths were attributed to non-natural causes. The highest proportion occurred among men aged 20 to 24, where almost two-thirds of deaths were linked to non-natural causes.
Among young women, the highest proportion occurred between the ages of 15 and 19, where almost one-third of deaths were attributed to non-natural causes, including assault.
While many young people report feeling healthy and increasingly positive about their lives, significant healthcare access challenges remain, and the leading causes of death continue to pose serious risks.
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