Around 630,000 people aged five and older in Austria cannot swim, the Austrian Road Safety Board (KFV) announced on Friday. Among them are 137,000 children and adolescents aged five to 19 who reportedly have no swimming skills. Particularly among eleven- and twelve-year-olds, there has been a further slight deterioration compared to previous years, with the share of non-swimmers rising to nine percent.
According to a recent survey by the KFV’s Department of Sports and Leisure Safety, ten- to fourteen-year-olds have generally poorer swimming skills than in previous years. Missed swimming lessons during the pandemic have had noticeable effects. The KFV warns of the consequences and emphasizes that special attention must be paid to raising awareness of this current risk in this age group. In addition, around 76,000 children and adolescents are only able to swim insecurely, the release stated.
A lack of school swimming instruction, insufficient infrastructure, and limited swimming experience within families are among the main reasons for the inadequate swimming skills of many children: 17 percent of parents said their children did not receive swimming lessons at school. The share of families without access to swimming pools or lakes also rose—from seven percent last year to ten percent this year.
School swimming as a solution
“The pandemic has exacerbated the issue, but even today we see a lot of room for improvement when it comes to providing low-threshold access to the life-saving skill of swimming. Regular practice and refreshing of swimming skills are essential,” explained Johanna Trauner-Karner, head of the Sports and Leisure Safety department at KFV.
“Our study once again highlights that people with lower incomes are more likely to have poor or no swimming skills. To counter this, we are calling for intensified swimming instruction in schools as well as an expansion of subsidized swimming courses in children’s free time,” emphasized Trauner-Karner.
According to the causes of death statistics from Statistics Austria, a total of 333 Austrian residents drowned in lakes, swimming pools, and private pools between 2014 and 2023, including 34 children and adolescents aged five to 19.
