Most young indigenous Australians believe they are in good or excellent health and three in four of them are happy at least most of the time, a new report shows.
But the mortality rate for indigenous young people is twice as high as it is for those who are non-indigenous, according to the paper from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The report, released on Wednesday, has brought together data on health and wellbeing outcomes for indigenous people aged between 10 and 24.
The majority of the group, or 63 per cent, rated their own health as either excellent or very good.
Another quarter reported that their health was good (27 per cent), while one in 10 rated their health as fair or poor.
When asked to rate their own happiness, 76 per cent of those aged 15 to 24 said they were happy all or most of the time over a four week period.
About a fifth were happy some of the time (18 per cent), while just one in 20 were happy a little or none of the time (six per cent).
More than two-thirds of indigenous young people said they were involved in cultural activities in the year prior to being surveyed, with 53 per cent identifying with a clan, tribal or language group.
The number of indigenous people aged 15 to 24 who smoke daily has also fallen, from 45 per cent in 2002 to 31 per cent in 2014-15.
But the report shows there are still notable disparities in some health outcomes for indigenous young people and those who are non-indigenous, including the mortality rate.
For Indigenous youth aged 10 to 24, the death rate fell from 70 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 67 in 2015.
But that is still more than double the rate of 27 deaths per 100,000 for non-indigenous young people.
"Many of the deaths of young indigenous people are avoidable," the report states.
"This includes suicides, transport accidents and assaults, which were the main causes of deaths for this age group."
The rate of high to very high psychological distress, which measures anxiety and depressive symptoms experienced over the past four weeks, was also higher among some indigenous young people.
A third (33 per cent) of those aged 18 to 24 who were indigenous experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress, compared with 13 per cent who were non-indigenous.
Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt said the report showed the efforts of first nations communities, and government and other organisations, are paying off.
But the report has raised challenges, he said, including 42 per cent of young indigenous people not being engaged in work, education or training.
"Clearly there is much work to do to strengthen prevention and early intervention initiatives that will help build strong families and communities," he said.
There were 242,000 indigenous people aged 10 to 24 in Australia in 2016, accounting for one in 20 young people in the nation.
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