Underage Drinking Statistics

General Statistics:

• Sixteen percent of alcohol consumption in the U.S. is done by underage drinkers.
• A survey of teens from 2002 to 2006 found that slightly more than half of them engaged in underage drinking.
• Seventy percent of young people engage in heavy drinking by ages 19 and 20.
• One in five of those aged 12 to 20, approximately 7.2 million people, said that they had engaged in binge drinking (consuming more than five drinks during one occasion) in the past month.
• Approximately 3.5 million teens between the ages of 12 and 20 meet the criteria for having an alcohol use disorder, such as dependence or abuse.
• Over half of underage alcohol users were at someone else's home when they had their last drink; slightly over 30% were in their own home; and 9% were at a bar, restaurant, or club.
• Many teenagers are misinformed about alcohol; about one-third of teens incorrectly think that one shot of liquor has more alcohol than a 12-oz can of beer.
• Although 60% of teens aged 15 and 16 reported drinking within a 12 month period, only 31% of their parents believed that their child drank during that time period.
• Research on 43,000 American adults has shown that those who began drinking in early adolescence were at greater risk of developing alcohol dependence in their lives.
• Most of the criminal charges in alcohol poisoning death cases were against those who obtained alcohol for underage drinkers.

Demographic Statistics:

• Rates of underage binge drinking were higher in the Northeast and Midwest than in the South or West.
• Rates of underage drinking and binge drinking were slightly higher at the opposite ends of the economic spectrum.
• Among younger teens, slightly more girls reported drinking than boys did. In the mid-teen years, boys and girls reported drinking at about the same rate. Among those 18- to 20-years-old, boys drank at a higher rate than girls.
• For those over the age of 12, males were almost twice as likely as females to drink and drive.

Obtaining Alcohol Statistics:

• Forty percent of teens said they obtained alcohol from an adult for free in the past month.
• One in four teens said they received alcohol from an unrelated adult. One in 16 obtained it from a parent or guardian while one in 12 got it from another adult family member.
• About 4% of surveyed teens said they got alcohol from their own home.
• An estimated two-thirds of alcohol sellers don't ask for identification, therefore potentially selling to minors.

Car-Related Statistics:

• About 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year as a result of underage drinking, 1,900 of those deaths are from auto accidents.
• About one in three high school students has been a passenger in a car driven by someone who had consumed alcohol.
• Alcohol is involved in 31% of teenage car accident fatalities.
• There is a much better chance that an individual will drink and drive if they had their first drink prior to age 19.
• The average blood-alcohol level of intoxicated underage car accident victims was 0.40 percent, five times the legal limit for driving.
• Compared to every other age group, young people age 15-20 years old are more often involved in alcohol-related car accidents. Age 21 is the peak for fatal crashes.

College Statistics:

• Of all college students, freshmen are at the greatest risk for dying from binge drinking and alcohol poisoning.
• Almost half of all the alcohol consumed by students attending 4-year colleges is consumed by underage students.
• 83 underage college students died from alcohol poisoning from 1999 to 2005.

Underage Drinking Statistics by Year:

2008:

• In 2008, young people between 18 and 20 enrolled full time in college were more likely to drink alcohol in general, binge drink, and heavily drink than those not enrolled full time.

2007:

• In 2007, 27.9% of people between 12 and 20 years of age reported underage drinking within the past month.
• Seventy-two percent of high school seniors reported having consumed alcohol as of 2007.
• In 2007, about 7.8% of 16 or 17 year olds and 18.3% of 18 to 20 year olds admitted to driving drunk within the last year.
• Ninety-two point two percent of 12th graders, 82.6% of 10th graders, and 62% of 8th graders reported that it's "very easy" or "fairly easy" to get alcohol in 2007.
• In 2007, for those underage drinkers who did not purchase their own alcohol the last time they drank, an unrelated person over age 21 bought it for them 37.2% of the time. Nineteen percent of the time, parents, guardians, or other family members provided it.

2006:

• In 2006, more than half of those between 12 and 20 years of age had consumed alcohol in their lifetime and about a quarter had within the past month.
• For drivers 15-20 years old involved in car accident in 2006, 25% had a BAC of .08 or higher.

2005:

• About 43% of high school students surveyed had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days.
• 2,035 young people 15-20 years old were killed in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents in 2005; this accounts for 33% of all car accidents for that age group.
• In 2005, underage drinkers was involved in 1,789 fatal car crashes.

2004:

• During prom, graduation, and homecoming weekends, 47% of fatal car crashes of 15-20 year olds involved alcohol in 2004.