Children's physical activity, screen time and sleep

Key statistics

68% of 2–5 year olds and 18% of 5–17 year olds met the physical activity recommendation from the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Australians
29% of 2–5 year olds and 28% of 5–17 year olds met the sedentary screen time recommendation
30% of 2–5 year olds and 60% of 5–17 year olds used screen-based devices in the hour before they went to bed

These statistics come from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS), which ran from January 2023 to March 2024. More information on other topics of interest from the survey is available on the NNPAS 2023 page.

See Measured physical activity and sleep for results on physical activity data collected using wearable accelerometer devices. Physical activity for adults and young people aged 15 years and over is also collected as part of the National Health Survey.

Children aged 2–17 years in the survey were asked about their physical activity and use of screen-based devices while sitting or lying down (sedentary). Information was collected for all 7 days in the week prior to their survey interview. Children were also asked about their sleep on the day before their interview and the use of screen-based devices before bed.

Children’s data was previously collected in NNPAS 2011–12. Comparisons to 2011–12 have been made in this analysis where available.

Different questions were asked depending on a child’s age to facilitate reporting against recommendations in the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Australians[1]. There are separate guidelines for infants, toddlers and preschoolers (birth to 5 years) and children and young people (5 to 17 years). The main age groups in this analysis are:

toddlers and preschool-aged children, defined as children aged 2–4 years and 5 year olds not attending school
children and young people, defined as children aged 6–17 years and 5 year olds attending school.

24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Australians

24-Hour Movement Guideline recommendations measured in NNPAS 2023
Recommendation	Threshold
Physical activity	3 hours or more per day of physical activity	60 minutes or more per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity
Muscle and bone strengthening activities(c)	n/a	Include on three days or more per week as part of their physical activity
Sedentary screen time(d)	60 minutes or less per day	2 hours or less per day
Secured sitting(e)(f)	60 minutes or less at a time	n/a
Sleep(f)	2 years: 11 hours or more per day	5–13 years: 9 hours or more per night
3–5 years: 10 hours or more per day	14–17 years: 8 hours or more per night

At a glance - who met the guidelines

In 2023, 18.1% of toddlers and preschool-aged children (2–5 years) and 7.2% of children and young people (5–17 years) met all measured recommendations of the guidelines for their age group. The proportion of children meeting each recommendation is summarised in the table below.

Proportion of children who met the 24-Hour Movement Guideline recommendations, 2023
Recommendation	Age group
Recommendation	2–5 years(a)		5–17 years(b)
Physical activity	67.7%		18.3%
Muscle and bone strengthening activities(c)	n/a		84.3%
Sedentary screen time(d)	28.5%		27.8%
Secured sitting(e)(f)	94.3%		n/a
Sleep(f)	2 years	82.4%	5–13 years	86.8%
	3–5 years	91.5%	14–17 years	78.0%
	Total 2–5 years	89.9%	Total 5–17 years	84.1%
Met all recommendations	18.1%		7.2%

Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.
Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.
Activities such as running, climbing, swinging on monkey bars, lifting weights and yoga.
Excluding for study-related purposes.
Includes secured sitting such as in a stroller, car seat or high chair.
Assessed only on the day prior to interview.
n/a not applicable

Children who did not meet the physical activity recommendation may still have done physical activity on several days of the week. For example, while 18.3% of children aged 5–17 years did at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day, a further 27.7% did at least 60 minutes on 5 or 6 days of the week.

Additionally, over half (54.1%) of children aged 5–17 years averaged at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity across the week. That is, they did 420 minutes or more across the week, but it may not have been accumulated consistently on each day.

For sedentary screen time, 27.8% of children aged 5–17 years did 2 hours or less every day. A further 21.6% did 2 hours or less on 5 or 6 days of the week.

When averaged across the week, 41.6% of children aged 5–17 years did 2 hours or less per day of sedentary screen time.

Physical activity

Daily physical activity supports children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical wellbeing[1].

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend that:

toddlers and preschool-aged children do at least 3 hours of physical activity every day
children and young people do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.

In 2023, 27.8% of all children aged 2–17 years met the physical activity recommendation for their age group.

Children aged 2–5 years

In the week before their interview, 67.7% of 2–5 year olds did at least 3 hours of physical activity every day, meeting the physical activity recommendation. This was similar to 2011–12 (71.9%).

A further 12.5% of children aged 2–5 years did at least 3 hours of physical activity on 5 or 6 days of the week. Overall, eight in ten (80.9%) children aged 2–5 years did at least 3 hours of physical activity on 5 or more days of the week.

More males aged 2–5 years (75.6%) met the physical activity recommendation than females (63.2%).

Average daily physical activity

On average, children aged 2–5 years did 6 hours (h) 3 minutes (min) of physical activity each day. Males did an average of 6h 17min per day and females did 5h 49min.

Children aged 2–5 years did an average of 2h 59min of outdoor activity and 3h 4min of indoor activity each day.

Males (3h 11min) did more outdoor activity than females (2h 47min).
Males and females did similar amounts of indoor activity (3h 5min and 3h 3min).

Average time spent doing indoor and outdoor activity, by sex, children 2–5 years(a), 2023
	Males (minutes)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (low)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (high)	Females (minutes)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (low)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (high)
Indoor physical activity	185	168	202	183	162	204
Outdoor physical activity	191	181	201	167	151	183

Average time spent doing indoor and outdoor activity, by sex, children 2–5 years(a), 2023

["","Males","95% confidence interval","Females","95% confidence interval"]

[["Indoor physical activity","Outdoor physical activity"],[[185],[191]],[[168,202],[181,201]],[[183],[167]],[[162,204],[151,183]]]

[]

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Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.

Children aged 5–17 years

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend that children and young people (5–17 years) do at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. In this analysis, moderate to vigorous physical activity comprises active transport (walking or riding to places) as well as other moderate to vigorous activities (for example swimming, soccer, and PE classes).

In 2023, 18.3% of children aged 5–17 years met the physical activity recommendation in the week before their interview. This was similar to 19.4% of children in 2011–12.

Male children (22.4%) were more likely to have met the physical activity recommendation than female children (14.6%).

The proportion of children who met the physical activity recommendation decreased with age, from 30.8% of 5–8 year olds to 7.6% of 15–17 year olds.

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a) who met the physical activity recommendation(b), by age, 2023
Age group (years)	Proportion of children (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
5–8(a)	30.8	25.8	35.8
9–11	23.0	17.3	28.7
12–14	8.2	4.1	12.3
15–17	7.6	4.9	10.3

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a) who met the physical activity recommendation(b), by age, 2023

["Age group (years)","Proportion of children","95% confidence interval"]

[["5\u20138(a)","9\u201311","12\u201314","15\u201317"],[[30.8],[23],[8.2],[7.6]],[[25.8,35.8],[17.3,28.7],[4.1,12.3],[4.9,10.3]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Age group (years)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"40","tick_interval":"10","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.
Assessed as doing 60 minutes or more of physical activity on all 7 days in the previous week.

In addition to the 18.3% of children who did at least 60 minutes of physical activity on all 7 days, a further 27.7% did at least 60 minutes on 5 or 6 days in the week before their interview. Overall, almost half (46.4%) of 5–17 year olds did at least 60 minutes of physical activity on 5 or more days of the week.

Children did at least 60 minutes of physical activity on an average of 4.2 days of the week.

Average daily physical activity

Children aged 5–17 years did an average of 1h 25min of physical activity each day. This was less than 2011–12 (1h 31min).

Over half (54.1%) of children averaged at least 1 hour of physical activity per day across the week.

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by average time per day spent doing physical activity, 2023
Average hours per day	Proportion of children (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
0 minutes	2.2	1.4	3.0
1–29 minutes	12.9	10.8	15.0
30 minutes to less than 1 hour	21.6	18.8	24.4
1 to less than 1.5 hours	20.1	18.0	22.2
1.5 to less than 2 hours	13.4	11.0	15.8
2 to less than 2.5 hours	8.8	6.9	10.7
2.5 to less than 3 hours	5.1	3.5	6.7
3 hours or more	6.9	5.3	8.5

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by average time per day spent doing physical activity, 2023

["Average hours per day","Proportion of children","95% confidence interval"]

[["0 minutes","1\u201329 minutes","30 minutes to less than 1 hour","1 to less than 1.5 hours","1.5 to less than 2 hours","2 to less than 2.5 hours","2.5 to less than 3 hours","3 hours or more"],[[2.2],[12.9],[21.6],[20.1],[13.4],[8.8],[5.1],[6.9]],[[1.4,3],[10.8,15],[18.8,24.4],[18,22.2],[11,15.8],[6.9,10.7],[3.5,6.7],[5.3,8.5]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"30","tick_interval":"10","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.

The amount of time children spent being physically active varied by age and sex.

Children aged 5–13 years (1h 33min) spent more time being physically active than children aged 14–17 years (1h 8min).
Male children (1h 31min) spent more time being physically active than female children (1h 18min).

Children spent a similar amount of time being active on weekdays (1h 23min) and weekends (1h 27min).

The time children spent being physically active on weekends decreased from 1h 42min in 2011–12 to 1h 27min in 2023.
The time children spent being physically active on weekdays remained similar between 2011–12 (1h 26min) and 2023 (1h 23min).

Types of physical activity (5–17 years)

Physical activity for children aged 5–17 years comprises active transport to or from places as well as other moderate to vigorous activities.

Active transport

Active transport includes walking, biking, skateboarding, scootering or rollerblading to get to or from school and other places.

Six in ten (62.9%) children did some kind of active transport during the week before their interview.
One third (33.0%) of children used active transport to get to or from school.

On average, children spent 17 min per day doing active transport, of which 14 min was walking.

The amount of time children spent doing active transport was similar across age, while time spent doing moderate to vigorous physical activities (excluding active transport) decreased with age.

Average time spent doing active transport and moderate to vigorous physical activity, by age, children 5–17 years(a), 2023
Age group (years)	Active transport (minutes)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (low)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (high)	Other moderate or vigorous physical activity (minutes)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (low)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (high)
5–8(a)	16	11	21	89	80	98
9–11	18	13	23	76	69	83
12–14	17	13	21	55	51	59
15–17	19	16	22	46	39	53

Average time spent doing active transport and moderate to vigorous physical activity, by age, children 5–17 years(a), 2023

["Age group (years)","Active transport","95% confidence interval","Other moderate or vigorous physical activity","95% confidence interval"]

[["5\u20138(a)","9\u201311","12\u201314","15\u201317"],[[16],[18],[17],[19]],[[11,21],[13,23],[13,21],[16,22]],[[89],[76],[55],[46]],[[80,98],[69,83],[51,59],[39,53]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Average minutes per day","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(minutes)","table_units":"(minutes)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"120","tick_interval":"30","precision":"0","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.

Moderate to vigorous physical activity (excluding active transport)

Other moderate to vigorous physical activities could include sports, school activities, or playing with friends but excludes active transport such as walking to school.

90.9% of children did moderate to vigorous physical activity (excluding active transport) in the week before their interview.
Engagement in moderate to vigorous physical activity (excluding active transport) was lowest for children aged 15–17 years (79.4%).

Children did an average of 1h 8min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (excluding active transport) each day.

Some of the most common activities children engaged in included:

play and children’s games, such as playing on the playground (47.0%)
swimming and diving (27.1%)
soccer (17.6%)
bush walking or walking for exercise (15.9%)
PE classes (15.0%).

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by type of physical activity done in previous week, 2023
Type of physical activity	Proportion of children (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
Play and children's games	47.0	43.5	50.5
Swimming and diving	27.1	24.7	29.5
Soccer (indoor and outdoor)	17.6	15.6	19.6
Bush walking and walking for exercise	15.9	13.7	18.1
PE classes	15.0	12.6	17.4
Basketball (indoor and outdoor)	14.6	12.2	17.0
Gymnastics and circus activities	12.4	10.5	14.3
Fitness and gym	11.3	9.5	13.1
Dancing and ballet	9.9	8.2	11.6
Jogging and running	8.9	7.2	10.6
Cycling and BMXing	7.4	5.6	9.2
Netball (indoor and outdoor)	5.6	4.3	6.9
Australian Rules football	5.2	3.9	6.5
Martial arts	5.2	3.9	6.5
Cricket	4.9	3.4	6.4

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by type of physical activity done in previous week, 2023

["Type of physical activity","Proportion of children","95% confidence interval"]

[["Play and children's games","Swimming and diving","Soccer (indoor and outdoor)","Bush walking and walking for exercise","PE classes","Basketball (indoor and outdoor)","Gymnastics and circus activities","Fitness and gym","Dancing and ballet","Jogging and running","Cycling and BMXing","Netball (indoor and outdoor)","Australian Rules football","Martial arts","Cricket"],[[47],[27.1],[17.6],[15.9],[15],[14.6],[12.4],[11.3],[9.9],[8.9],[7.4],[5.6],[5.2],[5.2],[4.9]],[[43.5,50.5],[24.7,29.5],[15.6,19.6],[13.7,18.1],[12.6,17.4],[12.2,17],[10.5,14.3],[9.5,13.1],[8.2,11.6],[7.2,10.6],[5.6,9.2],[4.3,6.9],[3.9,6.5],[3.9,6.5],[3.4,6.4]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"60","tick_interval":"20","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.

Younger children and older children engaged in different types of physical activity.

More children aged 5–13 years (62.4%) engaged in play and children’s games than children aged 14–17 years (13.1%)
More children aged 14–17 years (24.4%) did fitness and gym activities than children aged 5–13 years (5.2%).

Organised physical activity

Moderate to vigorous activities (excluding active transport) can be organised by a club, association, school or other type of organisation.

Six in ten (59.1%) children did some kind of organised physical activity in the week before their interview.

Engagement in organised physical activity was:

similar for boys (59.3%) and girls (58.9%)
higher for children aged 5–11 years (64.0%) than children aged 12–17 years (53.4%).

Children aged 12–17 years who did organised physical activity spent more time being physically active than those who did not (1h 20min compared to 54 min).

Muscle and bone strengthening activities (5–17 years)

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend that children and young people incorporate muscle and bone strengthening activities as part of their physical activity on at least 3 days per week. Muscle and bone strengthening activities include activities such as running, climbing, swinging on monkey bars, lifting weights and yoga.

In 2023, 84.3% of children aged 5–17 years met the muscle and bone strengthening recommendation. Engaging in muscle and bone strengthening activities was:

higher for males (89.1%) than females (79.2%)
higher for children aged 5–11 years (89.7%) than children aged 12–17 years (78.0%).

On average, children did muscle or bone strengthening exercises on 5.1 days of the week before their interview.

Sedentary screen time

Children aged 2–5 years

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend toddlers and preschool-aged children spend no more than 1 hour each day engaged in screen activity while sitting or lying down (sedentary).

In 2023, around three in ten (28.5%) children aged 2–5 years met the sedentary screen time recommendation in the week before their interview. This proportion was similar between males and females (30.3% and 26.1%).

A further 16.4% of children aged 2–5 years did 60 minutes or less sedentary screen activity on 5 or 6 days in the week before their interview. Overall, 45.7% did 60 minutes or less sedentary screen activity on 5 or more days in the week.

On average, children aged 2–5 years spent 1h 24min per day engaged in sedentary screen activity.

Proportion of children 2–5 years(a), by average sedentary screen time per day, 2023
Average hours per day	Proportion of children (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
0	1.7	0.2	3.2
More than 0 to 0.5	13.1	8.8	17.4
More than 0.5 to 1	20.9	16.5	25.3
More than 1 to 1.5	26.2	20.6	31.8
More than 1.5 to 2	19.3	14.8	23.8
More than 2 to 2.5	6.1	3.3	8.9
More than 2.5 to 3	3.0	0.7	5.3
More than 3	5.4	2.8	8.0

Proportion of children 2–5 years(a), by average sedentary screen time per day, 2023

["Average hours per day","Proportion of children","95% confidence interval"]

[["0","More than 0 to 0.5","More than 0.5 to 1","More than 1 to 1.5","More than 1.5 to 2","More than 2 to 2.5","More than 2.5 to 3","More than 3"],[[1.7],[13.1],[20.9],[26.2],[19.3],[6.1],[3],[5.4]],[[0.2,3.2],[8.8,17.4],[16.5,25.3],[20.6,31.8],[14.8,23.8],[3.3,8.9],[0.7,5.3],[2.8,8]]]

[]

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Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.

On average per day:

children aged 2–5 years did more sedentary screen activity on weekend days than weekdays (1h 32min compared to 1h 21min)
males and females did a similar amount of sedentary screen activity (1h 24min and 1h 25min).

Children aged 5–17 years

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend that children and young people spend no more than 2 hours each day engaged in sedentary screen activity, not including screen time for study-related purposes.

In 2023, over a quarter (27.8%) of children aged 5–17 years met the sedentary screen time recommendation in the week before their interview. The proportion of children who met the sedentary screen time recommendation:

was similar for males and females (29.0% and 26.2%)
decreased with age, from 45.5% of children aged 5–8 years to 8.7% of children aged 15–17 years.

A further 21.6% of children aged 5–17 years did 2 hours or less sedentary screen activity on 5 or 6 days in the week before their interview. Overall, nearly half (49.2%) did 2 hours or less sedentary screen activity on 5 or more days in the week. This proportion also decreased with age.

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a) by number of days did 2 hours or less sedentary screen time in previous week(b), by age, 2023
Age group (years)	Did 2 hours or less on 5 or more days (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Did 2 hours or less on all 7 days (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
5–8(a)	73.4	68.0	78.8	45.5	40.3	50.7
9–11	61.6	55.7	67.5	37.2	30.1	44.3
12–14	31.8	26.4	37.2	15.6	10.8	20.4
15–17	21.7	16.1	27.3	8.7	5.2	12.2

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a) by number of days did 2 hours or less sedentary screen time in previous week(b), by age, 2023

["Age group (years)","Did 2 hours or less on 5 or more days","95% confidence interval","Did 2 hours or less on all 7 days","95% confidence interval"]

[["5\u20138(a)","9\u201311","12\u201314","15\u201317"],[[73.4],[61.6],[31.8],[21.7]],[[68,78.8],[55.7,67.5],[26.4,37.2],[16.1,27.3]],[[45.5],[37.2],[15.6],[8.7]],[[40.3,50.7],[30.1,44.3],[10.8,20.4],[5.2,12.2]]]

[]

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Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.
Excludes screen activity for study-related purposes.

Average daily sedentary screen time

On average, children aged 5–17 years spent 2h 51min per day engaged in sedentary screen activity.

Around two in five (41.6%) children engaged in sedentary screen activity for an average of 2 hours or less per day.

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by average sedentary screen time per day(b), 2023
Average hours per day	Proportion of children (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
0	1.3	0.3	2.3
More than 0 to 1	11.1	9.2	13.0
More than 1 to 2	29.0	26.4	31.6
More than 2 to 3	24.5	22.1	26.9
More than 3 to 4	13.4	11.3	15.5
More than 4 to 5	9.0	6.9	11.1
More than 5 to 6	4.3	2.6	6.0
More than 6	5.6	4.1	7.1

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by average sedentary screen time per day(b), 2023

["Average hours per day","Proportion of children","95% confidence interval"]

[["0","More than 0 to 1","More than 1 to 2","More than 2 to 3","More than 3 to 4","More than 4 to 5","More than 5 to 6","More than 6"],[[1.3],[11.1],[29],[24.5],[13.4],[9],[4.3],[5.6]],[[0.3,2.3],[9.2,13],[26.4,31.6],[22.1,26.9],[11.3,15.5],[6.9,11.1],[2.6,6],[4.1,7.1]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"40","tick_interval":"10","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.
Excludes screen activity for study-related purposes.

On average, children aged 15–17 years did over 2 hours more sedentary screen activity per day than children aged 5–8 years (4h 9min compared to 1h 51min).

Children did more sedentary screen time activity on weekend days (3h 15min) than weekdays (2h 41min). Weekend screen time was higher than on weekdays for all age groups.

Types of screen-based devices used

Almost all (98.6%) 2–17 year olds used a screen-based device in the week before their interview. Televisions were the most popular screen-based devices (81.2%), followed by smart phones or watches (51.1%) and tablets (45.7%).

Children aged 5–17 years were more likely than 2–5 year olds to have used each type of screen-based device, except for televisions. Children aged 2–5 years were more likely to have used televisions than children aged 5–17 years (86.1% compared to 79.9%).

Proportion of children, by type of screen-based devices used in previous week and age, 2023
Type of screen-based device	Children 2–5 years(a) (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Children 5–17 years(b) (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
Television	86.1	81.2	91.0	79.9	77.2	82.6
Smart phone or smart watch	26.6	22.4	30.8	56.9	53.8	60.0
Tablet	40.1	34.4	45.8	47.1	44.3	49.9
Computer (including desktop or laptop)	4.4	1.5	7.3	41.5	38.8	44.2
Gaming console	6.2	3.5	8.9	34.2	31.8	36.6

Proportion of children, by type of screen-based devices used in previous week and age, 2023

["Type of screen-based device","Children 2\u20135 years(a)","95% confidence interval","Children 5\u201317 years(b)","95% confidence interval"]

[["Television","Smart phone or smart watch","Tablet","Computer (including desktop or laptop)","Gaming console"],[[86.1],[26.6],[40.1],[4.4],[6.2]],[[81.2,91],[22.4,30.8],[34.4,45.8],[1.5,7.3],[3.5,8.9]],[[79.9],[56.9],[47.1],[41.5],[34.2]],[[77.2,82.6],[53.8,60],[44.3,49.9],[38.8,44.2],[31.8,36.6]]]

[]

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Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.
Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.

Secured sitting (2–5 years)

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend that toddlers and preschool-aged children spend no more than 1 hour at a time in a secured sitting position (such as in a stroller, car seat or highchair).

Almost all (94.3%) children aged 2–5 years met the secured sitting recommendation on the day before their interview.
Males were more likely to have met the secured sitting recommendation than females (96.5% compared to 93.6%).

Sleep

Children aged 2–5 years

Children aged 2–5 years slept for an average of 11h 27min on the day before their interview. Most (10h 51min) of this came from overnight sleep, with just under half (42.2%) of children having napped during the day.

The 24-hour Movement Guidelines recommend at least 11 hours of sleep every day for 2 year olds and at least 10 hours for children aged 3–5 years.

Nine in ten (89.9%) children aged 2–5 years slept for at least the minimum recommended hours for their age.
Males and females were similarly likely to meet the sleep recommendation (91.3% and 88.7%).
2 year olds were less likely to meet their sleep recommendation than children aged 3–5 years (82.4% compared to 91.5%).

Proportion of children 2–5 years(a) by time spent sleeping on previous day(b), 2023
Hours	Proportion of children (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
Less than 10	5.2	3.0	7.4
10 to less than 11	23.4	17.3	29.5
11 to less than 12	37.0	30.5	43.5
12 to less than 13	21.7	17.1	26.3
13 to less than 14	9.1	6.0	12.2
14 or more	2.1	0.8	3.4

Proportion of children 2–5 years(a) by time spent sleeping on previous day(b), 2023

["Hours","Proportion of children","95% confidence interval"]

[["Less than 10","10 to less than 11","11 to less than 12","12 to less than 13","13 to less than 14","14 or more"],[[5.2],[23.4],[37],[21.7],[9.1],[2.1]],[[3,7.4],[17.3,29.5],[30.5,43.5],[17.1,26.3],[6,12.2],[0.8,3.4]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Hours","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"50","tick_interval":"10","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.
Includes naps during the day and overnight sleep.

Of the almost half (42.2%) of children aged 2–5 years who had naps during the day, the average time spent napping was 86 min. Most (94.1%) children who had naps met the sleep recommendation, similar to children whose only sleep was overnight (87.3%).

Children aged 5–17 years

Children aged 5–17 years slept for an average of 9h 43min on the night before their interview. Sleep duration was higher for children aged 5–13 years (10h 1min) than children aged 14–17 years (9 h).

Children aged 5–13 years are recommended to get at least 9 hours of sleep every night while children aged 14–17 years are recommended at least 8 hours.

84.1% of children aged 5–17 years slept for at least the minimum recommended hours for their age.
More children aged 5–13 years met their sleep recommendation than children aged 14–17 years (86.8% compared to 78.0%).
A similar proportion of males (85.6%) and females (82.5%) aged 5–17 years met the sleep recommendation.

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by time spent sleeping on previous night and age, 2023
Hours	5–13 years(a) (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	14–17 years (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
Less than 7	1.3	0.1	2.5	6.9	4.4	9.4
7 to less than 8	1.9	1.0	2.8	12.5	7.6	17.4
8 to less than 9	8.7	6.2	11.2	23.4	18.9	27.9
9 to less than 10	25.8	22.5	29.1	26.4	21.8	31.0
10 to less than 11	36.4	33.1	39.7	17.5	14.0	21.0
11 to less than 12	21.0	17.9	24.1	7.5	4.4	10.6
12 or more	4.3	2.8	5.8	2.7	0.7	4.7

Proportion of children 5–17 years(a), by time spent sleeping on previous night and age, 2023

["Hours","5\u201313 years(a)","95% confidence interval","14\u201317 years","95% confidence interval"]

[["Less than 7","7 to less than 8","8 to less than 9","9 to less than 10","10 to less than 11","11 to less than 12","12 or more"],[[1.3],[1.9],[8.7],[25.8],[36.4],[21],[4.3]],[[0.1,2.5],[1,2.8],[6.2,11.2],[22.5,29.1],[33.1,39.7],[17.9,24.1],[2.8,5.8]],[[6.9],[12.5],[23.4],[26.4],[17.5],[7.5],[2.7]],[[4.4,9.4],[7.6,17.4],[18.9,27.9],[21.8,31],[14,21],[4.4,10.6],[0.7,4.7]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Hours","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"50","tick_interval":"10","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds not yet attending school.

Fewer older children slept for the minimum recommended amount compared to younger children. This was reflected in different sleep onset and wake times across age groups.

Sleep onset was on average 2.5 hours later for 15–17 years compared to 5–8 years (11:06 pm compared to 8:36 pm)
Wake time was around 1 hour later for 15–17 years compared to 5–8 years (7:57 am to 7:01 am).

Sleep duration decreased with age, from an average of 10h 25min for children aged 5–8 years to 8h 50min for children aged 15–17 years. There was no difference in average sleep duration for male and female children in any age group.

Average time spent sleeping on previous night, by age and sex, children 5–17 years(a), 2023
Age group (years)	Males (minutes)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (low)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (high)	Females (minutes)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (low)	95% confidence interval (minutes) (high)
5–8(a)	626	617	635	624	615	633
9–11	595	580	610	601	591	611
12–14	560	548	572	566	551	581
15–17	533	515	551	528	508	548

Average time spent sleeping on previous night, by age and sex, children 5–17 years(a), 2023

["Age group (years)","Males","95% confidence interval","Females","95% confidence interval"]

[["5\u20138(a)","9\u201311","12\u201314","15\u201317"],[[626],[595],[560],[533]],[[617,635],[580,610],[548,572],[515,551]],[[624],[601],[566],[528]],[[615,633],[591,611],[551,581],[508,548]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Age group (years)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Minutes","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(minutes)","table_units":"(minutes)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"660","tick_interval":"60","precision":"0","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.

Children aged 14–17 years who reported for a weekend night slept 35 minutes longer on average than those who reported for a weeknight (9h 24min compared to 8h 49min). There was no difference for children aged 5–13 years in weekend night (10h 6min) and weeknight (10 h) sleep duration.

Comparison to 2011–12

Children aged 5–17 years slept for a similar length of time on average in 2011–12 (9h 49min) and 2023 (9h 43min). When broken down by age, sleep duration:

was slightly higher in 2011–12 (10h 12min) compared to 2023 (10h 1min), for children aged 5–13 years
was similar in 2011–12 (8h 52min) and 2023 (9 hours), for children aged 14–17 years.

Quality of sleep

In 2023, four in five (79.8%) children aged 2–17 years had good or very good sleep quality on the night before their interview. In addition:

10.5% had fair sleep quality
4.3% had poor or very poor sleep quality.

More children aged 2–5 years (85.7%) had good or very good sleep compared to those aged 5–13 years (79.7%) and 14–17 years (75.3%).

Across age groups, males and females had similar sleep quality.

Proportion of children 2–17 years who had good or very good quality of sleep(a), by age and sex, 2023
Age group (years)	Males (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Females (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
2–5(b)	89.1	83.3	94.9	85.3	77.8	92.8
5–13(c)	79.2	75.1	83.3	80.3	76.7	83.9
14–17	79.1	73.7	84.5	70.5	63.8	77.2

Proportion of children 2–17 years who had good or very good quality of sleep(a), by age and sex, 2023

["Age group (years)","Males","95% confidence interval","Females","95% confidence interval"]

[["2\u20135(b)","5\u201313(c)","14\u201317"],[[89.1],[79.2],[79.1]],[[83.3,94.9],[75.1,83.3],[73.7,84.5]],[[85.3],[80.3],[70.5]],[[77.8,92.8],[76.7,83.9],[63.8,77.2]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Age group (years)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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Self-assessed quality of sleep on the night before interview.
Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.
Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.

Screen-based devices and healthy sleep behaviour

Keeping screen-based devices out of the bedroom and avoiding screen use before going to bed helps children maintain healthy sleep patterns[1].

13.8% of children aged 2–5 years and 57.7% of children aged 5–17 years had at least one screen-based device in their bedroom.
29.5% of 2–5 year olds and 60.0% of 5–17 year olds used screen-based devices in the 60 minutes before going to bed on the night before their interview.

Both screen use before bed and having screens in the bedroom increased with age. Children aged 15–17 years had the highest rate of screen use in the hour before bed (86.7%) and almost all (94.2%) had screen-based devices in their bedroom.

Females aged 12–14 years were more likely to have screens in their bedroom compared to males of the same age (80.8% compared to 67.7%). This difference was not apparent for any other age group.

Proportion of children 2–17 years who used screens before bed and had screens in their bedroom, by age, 2023
Age group (years)	Used screens in the hour before bed (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Had screen devices in their bedroom (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
2–5(a)	29.5	23.3	35.7	13.8	9.9	17.7
5–8(b)	41.3	36.2	46.4	29.1	24.9	33.3
9–11	42.3	36.7	47.9	40.4	34.9	45.9
12–14	75.7	73.1	78.3	74.7	70.4	79.0
15–17	86.7	82.9	90.5	94.2	92.2	96.2

Proportion of children 2–17 years who used screens before bed and had screens in their bedroom, by age, 2023

["Age group (years)","Used screens in the hour before bed","95% confidence interval","Had screen devices in their bedroom","95% confidence interval"]

[["2\u20135(a)","5\u20138(b)","9\u201311","12\u201314","15\u201317"],[[29.5],[41.3],[42.3],[75.7],[86.7]],[[23.3,35.7],[36.2,46.4],[36.7,47.9],[73.1,78.3],[82.9,90.5]],[[13.8],[29.1],[40.4],[74.7],[94.2]],[[9.9,17.7],[24.9,33.3],[34.9,45.9],[70.4,79],[92.2,96.2]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Age group (years)","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

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Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.
Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.

Children were also asked what types of screen-based devices were in their bedroom. While the presence of all types of devices in the bedroom generally increased with age, the most common types were different for younger and older children.

Tablets (15.0%) and televisions (12.7%) were the most common devices in the bedroom for children aged 5–8 years.
Around one in five (19.3%) children aged 9–11 years had tablets in the bedroom and 16.0% had smart phones or smart watches.
Smart phones or smart watches were the most common devices in the bedroom for children aged 12–14 years (54.9%) and 15–17 years (82.9%). Computers were the next most common devices for older children.

Proportion of children 2–17 years by type of screen device in their bedroom(a) and age, 2023
Age group (years)	Smart phone or watch (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Computer(d) (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Television (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Tablet (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)	Gaming console(e) (%)	95% confidence interval (%) (low)	95% confidence interval (%) (high)
15–17	82.9	78.4	87.4	51.5	44.7	58.3	28.3	21.3	35.3	20.2	15.1	25.3	18.3	14.1	22.5
12–14	54.9	49.2	60.6	35.0	28.6	41.4	18.9	12.9	24.9	18.1	13.5	22.7	13.3	8.7	17.9
9–11	16.0	10.7	21.3	9.0	4.5	13.5	11.8	7.8	15.8	19.3	14.0	24.6	6.5	3.6	9.4
5–8(b)	2.7	1.2	4.2	1.5	np	np	12.7	8.8	16.6	15.0	11.2	18.8	4.0	1.5	6.5
2–5(c)	2.5	0.7	4.3	0.5	np	np	5.8	2.6	9.0	5.8	3.2	8.4	0.4	np	np

Proportion of children 2–17 years by type of screen device in their bedroom(a) and age, 2023

["Age group (years)","Smart phone or watch","95% confidence interval","Computer(d)","95% confidence interval","Television","95% confidence interval","Tablet","95% confidence interval","Gaming console(e)","95% confidence interval"]

[["15\u201317","12\u201314","9\u201311","5\u20138(b)","2\u20135(c)"],[[82.9],[54.9],[16],[2.7],[2.5]],[[78.4,87.4],[49.2,60.6],[10.7,21.3],[1.2,4.2],[0.7,4.3]],[[51.5],[35],[9],[1.5],[0.5]],[[44.7,58.3],[28.6,41.4],[4.5,13.5],[null],[null]],[[28.3],[18.9],[11.8],[12.7],[5.8]],[[21.3,35.3],[12.9,24.9],[7.8,15.8],[8.8,16.6],[2.6,9]],[[20.2],[18.1],[19.3],[15],[5.8]],[[15.1,25.3],[13.5,22.7],[14,24.6],[11.2,18.8],[3.2,8.4]],[[18.3],[13.3],[6.5],[4],[0.4]],[[14.1,22.5],[8.7,17.9],[3.6,9.4],[1.5,6.5],[null]]]

[]

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‘Other screen-based device’ not shown.
Excludes 5-year-olds not attending school.
Excludes 5-year-olds attending school.
The proportion for 2–5 and 5–8 years has a high margin of error and should be used with caution.
The proportion for 2–5 years has a high margin of error and should be used with caution.
np the confidence interval is not publishable.

Data downloads

See National Nutrition and Physical Activity 2023 data downloads for the full suite of available data.

Data relating to measured physical activity and sleep can be found in the Children's physical activity, screen time and sleep (self-reported) tables:

TABLES 1 and 2 Whether met guidelines by age and sex
TABLE 3 Whether met guidelines by population characteristics
TABLES 4 and 5 Time spent on activity
TABLES 6 and 7 Number of days did recommended amount of physical activity and sedentary screen time
TABLES 8 and 9 Distribution of time spent on activity
TABLE 10 Type of physical activity participated in
TABLE 11 Type of screen-based devices used
TABLE 12 Sleep quality and sleep behaviours
TABLES 13 and 14 Physical activity summary 2011–12 and 2023.

Footnotes

Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, '24-hour movement guidelines for all Australians', https://www.health.gov.au/topics/physical-activity/24-hour-movement-guidelines-for-all-australians; accessed 24/06/2026.

Methodology

For more information, see NNPAS 2023 methodology.

APA

Citation

Children's physical activity, screen time and sleep

APA

Citation

Key statistics

24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Australians

At a glance - who met the guidelines

Physical activity

Children aged 2–5 years

Average daily physical activity

Children aged 5–17 years

Average daily physical activity

Types of physical activity (5–17 years)

Active transport

Moderate to vigorous physical activity (excluding active transport)

Organised physical activity

Muscle and bone strengthening activities (5–17 years)

Sedentary screen time

Children aged 2–5 years

Children aged 5–17 years

Average daily sedentary screen time

Types of screen-based devices used

Secured sitting (2–5 years)

Sleep

Children aged 2–5 years

Children aged 5–17 years

Comparison to 2011–12

Quality of sleep

Screen-based devices and healthy sleep behaviour

Data downloads

Footnotes

Methodology

Provide feedback

Recommendation	Threshold
Recommendation	Toddlers and preschool-aged children(a)	Children and young people(b)
Physical activity	3 hours or more per day of physical activity	60 minutes or more per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity
Muscle and bone strengthening activities(c)	n/a	Include on three days or more per week as part of their physical activity
Sedentary screen time(d)	60 minutes or less per day	2 hours or less per day
Secured sitting(e)(f)	60 minutes or less at a time	n/a
Sleep(f)	2 years: 11 hours or more per day	5–13 years: 9 hours or more per night
Sleep(f)	3–5 years: 10 hours or more per day	14–17 years: 8 hours or more per night