The figures are published in the report Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2001, on behalf of the Department of Health by the National Centre for Social Research and the National Foundation for Educational Research.
The numbers have been creeping up since 1988, when 40 per cent of 15-year-olds drank in a given week.
More boys start drinking early than girls. At the age of 11, 8 per cent reported that they drank alcohol in the previous week - twice as many as the girls. But from the age of 13 to 15 the gap closes, and girls are just as likely to down booze as boys.
Andrew McNeill, director of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said a combination of many social factors was at play, and he described the growth in a "culture of intoxication" as a "major concern".
"Teenagers in this country are the most likely in Europe to get drunk, alongside the Irish and the Danes," said McNeill.
"Delaying regular drinking is beneficial."
He said that young people respond poorly to being told to abstain.
Visit www.official-documents.co.uk/document/deps/doh/sddyp02/survey.htm.
