This section presents findings for different types of sport activity. Together this information demonstrates the contribution of each sport activity to overall participation and demand levels across Wales.
It is possible to explore the detailed activity types that form ‘Fitness activities’, ‘Sports and Games’, and ‘Outdoor Pursuits’. Doing so enables a deeper level of insight into the activities that adults participate in or wanted to do more of.
How each activity ranks relative to one another is fundamentally dependent on how that activity is defined. When a broader definition is used for an activity or when more activities are grouped together, the more likely it will be that adults will have either participated in that activity or have demand for that activity. Moreover, smaller sample sizes require broader definitions to be used in order to robustly report on specific activity types, meaning sample size, definitions and results are inextricably linked (see below for examples of why this matters).
Helpful information
How activities are categorised matters:
For example, the percentage of adults taking part in ‘Outdoor Pursuits’ would be much higher if ‘Walking over 2 miles’ was reclassified from a ‘Fitness Activity’ and into this group. Also, some categories contain a greater quantity of activities (e.g. Team Sports has 21 subtypes) than others, which might only contain a few (e.g. ‘Cycling’ has three – ‘BMX’, ‘Mountain Biking’ and ‘Other type of outdoor or track cycling’).
How activities are grouped together matters:
For example, ‘Athletics’ would rank much lower than shown, and relative to other activities, if ‘Jogging or Running’ was excluded from the definition presented for that sport. Moreover, and linked to the point above, it would also instead have been grouped with ‘Sports and Games’.
Ability to report on activities is linked to sample size:
Also, if sample size decreases, there may only be the opportunity to report on broad activity classifications. For example, with a large sample size we would detect the prevalence of football, rugby union, cricket etc. (i.e. different types of team sports) whereas with small samples it may only be possible to report on ‘Team Sports’ in general as an activity type
For this report the most detailed level of analysis has been used whenever practical and useful [1]. This analysis revealed that ‘Walking over 2 miles’ remains the most common activity type through which adults are active, despite there being relatively low demand. Indeed, for most types of ‘Fitness activity’ those who participated in them far exceeded the level of demand to do more of that activity (e.g. worked out at home. going to the gym, running or jogging, fitness classes). This is not the case for many of the more traditional sports and outdoor pursuits where demand is more in line with participation (Table 6.1, Table 6.2 and Table 6.3).
6.1 Fitness Activities
The ‘Fitness Activity’ adults participated in the most was ‘Walking over 2 miles’. ‘Going to the gym’ was most in demand.
Table 6.1: The percentage and number of adults who participated in the last 4 weeks or had demand to do more by activity type (Fitness Activity)
| Participation (in last 4 weeks) | Demand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detailed Activity | Percentage of adults (%) | Number of adults | Percentage of adults (%) | Number of adults |
| Walking over 2 miles | 36.7% | 905,000 | 3.3% | 79,000 |
| Worked out/exercised at home | 17.0% | 419,000 | * | * |
| Gone to gym - not for fitness classes | 15.2% | 375,000 | 3.9% | 95,000 |
| Jogging or Running (inc. Athletics [2] ) | 12.8% | 315,000 | 2.3% | 56,000 |
| Swimming or diving | 11.1% | 274, 000 | 10.1% | 245,000 |
| Fitness classes | 10.7% | 265, 000 | 2.9% | 72,000 |
| Cycling – BMX / Mountain Biking / Other | 8.2% | 203,000 | 3.9% | 96,000 |
| Dance classes | 1.9% | 47,000 | 0.8% | 19,000 |
| Gymnastics / Trampolining | 0.6% | 16,000 | * | * |
| Overall Fitness Activity | 56% | 1,366,000 | 22% | 545,000 |
6.2 Sports & Games
The activity adults participate in the most within ‘Sports and Games’ was ‘Swimming or diving’. It was also the activity that was most in demand.
Table 6.2: The percentage and number of adults who participated in the last 4-weeks or had demand to do more by activity type (Sports and Games)
| Participation (in last 4 weeks) | Demand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detailed Activity | Percentage of adults (%) | Number of adults | Percentage of adults (%) | Number of adults |
| Golf | 4.0% | 100, 000 | 1.9% | 47,000 |
| Pool | 3.7% | 91,000 | * | * |
| Darts | 3.4% | 85, 000 | * | * |
| Football | 2.6% | 65,000 | 2.7% | 66,000 |
| Bowling (ten pin) | 2.6% | 64,000 | * | * |
| Badminton | 1.5% | 38,000 | 1.6% | 40,000 |
| Tennis | 1.5% | 38,000 | 1.8% | 45,000 |
| Bowls – Indoor / Outdoor | 0.8% | 20,000 | 0.7% | 18,000 |
| Table tennis | 0.8% | 20,000 | * | * |
| Cricket | * | * | 0.6% | 15,000 |
| Squash | * | * | 0.7% | 16,000 |
| Overall Sports and Games | 19% | 477,000 | 12% | 304,000 |
6.3 Outdoor Pursuits
The ‘Outdoor Pursuits’ adults participated in the most was ‘Climbing / mountaineering’. This and ‘Canoeing / Kayaking’ were most in demand.
Table 6.3: The percentage and number of adults who participated in the last 4-weeks or had demand to do more by activity type (Outdoor Pursuits)
| Participation(in last 4 weeks) | Demand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detailed Activity | Percentage of adults (%) | Number of adults | Percentage of adults (%) | Number of adults |
| Climbing / mountaineering | 1.5% | 37,000 | 1.1% | 27,000 |
| Fishing or angling | 0.8% | 21,000 | * | * |
| Canoeing / Kayaking | 0.8% | 19,000 | 1.1% | 27,000 |
| Paddleboarding | 0.7% | 17,000 | 0.7% | 18,000 |
| Horse riding | 0.6% | 15,000 | 1.2% | 28,000 |
| Skiing | * | * | 0.6% | 16,000 |
| Overall Outdoor Pursuits | 6% | 143,000 | 6% | 142,000 |
It should be noted that most of the detailed activity types mentioned explicitly within the survey (there were around 90 activity types listed in total) had a low level of response [3] at the individual activity level. For this reason activities needed to be aggregated to broader categories or grouped for the purpose of reporting. If an activity cannot be found in the tables it is due to the low level of participation or demand across all adults in Wales.
6.4 Next Update
The Welsh Government survey team will publish detailed bulletins on additional topics from the National Survey for Wales over the coming months.
The next round of National Survey results is expected to be published in summer 2027. The update will cover results from the 2026-27 fieldwork year.