Globally, male smokers aged 13-15 years are higher in number than female smokers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that approximately 21 million adolescents aged 13-15 were smokers in 2020. This figure comprises 15 million male adolescent smokers and 6 million female adolescent smokers.

Globally, the average prevalence of male smokers aged 13-15 was 7.9% between 2010 and 2020. Meanwhile, the prevalence among female smokers was lower, at 3.5%.

By region, the highest average prevalence of male smokers aged 13-15 was in Southeast Asia, reaching 9.2%. This was followed by Europe at 8.8% and the Americas at 7.4%.

The highest average prevalence of female smokers aged 13-15 was in the Americas, reaching 7.1%, or 3.6 percentage points higher than the global average of 3.5%. The next highest prevalence was in Europe, at 6.8%.

High-income countries had the lowest average prevalence of smokers aged 13-15, at 6% for males and 5.2% for females. Conversely, upper-middle-income countries had the highest prevalence, at 8.3% for males and 4.9% for females.