Globally, the estimated numbers of boys and girls 13–15 years old who smoke cigarettes or use smokeless tobacco products are approximately 25 million and 13 million, respectively.
From the beginning of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey in 1999 and through 2016, 108 countries completed at least two surveys at some point. Of these countries, 43 countries saw no statistically significant change in tobacco use prevalence among boys and girls aged 13-15 years. Tobacco use prevalence among both boys and girls decreased in 20 countries, but they increased in 18 other countries. In 27 countries, the trends for boys and girls were mixed.
Most countries with a reduction in tobacco use among boys and girls are countries with a very high human development index (HDI). Currently, countries with the highest prevalence of tobacco use among youth are generally non-very-high HDI countries. In several of these countries, tobacco use among adolescent girls is now more common than among adult women, indicating that historically lower prevalence of tobacco use among females in many populations worldwide may not continue in the near future.