Contents
- Adult sports participation statistics: regular sport participation in Ireland and Canada
- Adult sports participation statistics: age and gender differences
- Adult sports participation statistics: popular sports and exercise activities
- Adult sports participation statistics: disability and socioeconomic differences
- Adult sports participation statistics: sport locations and participation formats
- Adult sports participation statistics: frequency and duration
- Sources
Adult sports participation statistics: regular sport participation in Ireland and Canada
Regular participation figures depend on how a survey defines participation. The Irish Sports Monitor asks about sport and exercise activity during the prior 7 days. In that measure, 47% of adults in Ireland regularly participated in sport in 2023, representing an estimated 1.97 million people. The prior peak in the series was 46% in 2019; participation was 40% in 2021 and 43% in 2022. The 2023 report also estimated that approximately 210,000 people took up or returned to sport during the year preceding the report. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
| Place and measure | Population and reference period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland, regular sport participation | Adults; prior 7 days, 2023 | 47% |
| Ireland, regular sport participation | Overall rate, 2019 | 46% |
| Ireland, regular sport participation | Overall rate, 2021 | 40% |
| Ireland, regular sport participation | Overall rate, 2022 | 43% |
| Ireland, estimated regular participants | People, 2023 | 1.97 million |
| Ireland, took up or returned to sport | Year preceding the 2023 report | Approximately 210,000 people |
The Canadian figure describes a different period and population question. In 2024, 27% of Canadian adults aged 18 years and older said they had participated in sport during the last year. This annual recall measure should not be read as directly equivalent to Ireland’s prior-week measure: someone who took part once during a year can be counted by the Canadian question, while Ireland’s regular-participation indicator refers to recent activity. The sources support a comparison of the reported indicators, not a ranking under a common survey definition. Sport Participation, Adults (18 years and older), 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey
Norway provides another distinct reference point: 87.0% of people aged 16 and older had exercised during the prior 12 months in 2024. That broad exercise measure also differs from Ireland’s regular sport rate and Canada’s sport participation question. Together, the figures show why country comparisons need to retain the survey’s population, activity definition, and recall period. Sports and outdoor activities, survey on living conditions – Statistics Norway
Adult sports participation statistics: age and gender differences
In Ireland, the 2023 regular-participation rate was 64% among people aged under 35 and 40% among those aged 35 and over. These figures describe regular sport participation, while the survey also reports social participation separately: 51% of people under 35 and 43% of people aged 35 and over participated socially in sport. The social figures add context about participation format; they are not the same measure as regular participation. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
| Irish adult group, 2023 | Regular sport participation | Social participation in sport |
|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 64% | 51% |
| Aged 35 and over | 40% | 43% |
The gender figures were closer together. In 2023, 49% of men and 46% of women participated regularly in sport in Ireland; the report describes the gap as 3 percentage points. The age and gender indicators are both reported for Ireland in 2023, but they divide the population in different ways and should be read as separate views of participation. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
The report also identifies active travel as a separate physical-activity topic. Among Irish people aged 16–19, 18% regularly cycled for transport in 2023. This is not a sport-participation rate: the monitor distinguishes cycling for transport from sport and exercise. Keeping that boundary clear prevents a transport activity from being mistaken for a sports statistic. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
Adult sports participation statistics: popular sports and exercise activities
The Irish monitor’s activity figures refer to activity during the prior 7 days. Personal exercise was reported by 17% of Irish adults in 2023, running by 7%, and swimming by 8%. Soccer and Gaelic football were each reported by 4%, while dancing was reported by 3%. These are individual activity figures, not mutually exclusive choices; they should not be added to form a share of adults because one respondent may report more than one activity. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
| Activity reported in Ireland | Adults reporting activity in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Personal exercise | 17% |
| Swimming | 8% |
| Running | 7% |
| Soccer | 4% |
| Gaelic football | 3% |
| Dancing | 3% |
Team sports provide a broader participation-format indicator: 19% of Irish sports participants reported taking part in team sports in 2023. The denominator here is sports participants, not all adults, so this figure cannot be placed on the same footing as the adult activity percentages above. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
Norway’s 2024 figures cover people aged 16 and older reporting exercise activities during the prior 12 months. In that period, 38.0% reported biking, 37.5% jogging, and 25.6% cross-country skiing. The broader category “have exercised” was 87.0%. These data offer examples of activity patterns, but annual recall and the wider exercise framing differ from Ireland’s recent-week sport measure. Sports and outdoor activities, survey on living conditions – Statistics Norway
Adult sports participation statistics: disability and socioeconomic differences
In Ireland, 32% of respondents reporting a long-term illness, health issue, or disability that restricted daily activities played sport regularly in 2023. Among respondents without such a reported condition, the regular-participation figure was 52%. The report describes the difference between these rates as a 20 percentage-point disability gap. This comparison concerns sport participation, not a general measure of all physical activity. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
A separate activity classification showed that 21% of people with a disability were inactive in 2023, compared with 9% of people without a disability. “Inactive” belongs to the report’s broader physical-activity classification; it is not another name for not playing sport regularly. Keeping these measures distinct matters because a person can fall outside the regular-sport group while still doing other physical activity. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
The monitor also reports participation by socioeconomic grouping, based on the occupation of the chief income earner, with category F excluded from this comparison. In 2023, 57% of ABC1 respondents participated in sport, compared with 38% of C2DE respondents. The report gives the difference as 19 percentage points. It also notes a 34 percentage-point gap in 2017, showing the historical comparison reported for those groupings; the 2017 value should not be interpreted as a current rate. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
Within the group of Irish respondents who played multiple sports each week in 2023, 29% were in C2DE and 40% were ABC1. This is a comparison of socioeconomic composition among those reporting multiple weekly sports, rather than the overall participation rate for either group. The distinction between a group’s share of multiple-sport participants and its rate of sport participation helps keep the denominators clear. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
Adult sports participation statistics: sport locations and participation formats
The Irish monitor reports where sport participants took part in 2023. A gym or sports centre was used by 28% of sport participants, a public place by 22%, and home by 16%. A sports club was reported by 13%, a public road by 10%, a park by 6%, and a beach or seaside location by 3%. The denominator for every percentage in this location list is sport participants, rather than all Irish adults. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
| Location used by Irish sport participants | Share in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Gym or sports centre | 28% |
| Public place (total) | 22% |
| At home | 16% |
| Sports club | 13% |
| Public road | 10% |
| Park | 6% |
| Beach or seaside | 3% |
Participation format figures show both independent and social or organised activity. In 2023, 45% of Irish sport participants exercised on their own, 26% took part casually with friends or family, and 31% participated in organised training. These are reported formats among sport participants, and the categories should not be treated as a single-choice distribution. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
Adult sports participation statistics: frequency and duration
Among Irish sport participants in 2023, average frequency was 2.6 sport sessions per week, and average duration was 67.6 minutes per session. The report also states an average of 3.9 hours per week spent participating in sport. These are separate reported summary measures: sessions per week, minutes per session, and cumulative weekly time. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
The weekly-time categories show how participation was distributed across durations. Among Irish sport participants, 4% played up to 30 minutes per week, 13% played 31 to 60 minutes, 17% played more than 2 up to 3 hours, 20% played more than 3 up to 5 hours, and 15% played more than 5 up to 8 hours in 2023. These figures preserve the report’s stated bands; the selected categories do not cover every possible weekly duration, so they should not be summed as a complete distribution. Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Research Report
| Weekly sport time among Irish sport participants, 2023 | Share |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 minutes | 4% |
| 31 to 60 minutes | 13% |
| More than 2 up to 3 hours | 17% |
| More than 3 up to 5 hours | 20% |
| More than 5 up to 8 hours | 15% |
For Norway, 59.1% of people aged 16 and older exercised several times a week in 2024. This is an exercise-frequency indicator, not a sport-only measure, and it sits alongside Norway’s annual activity recall figures rather than Ireland’s sport-participant session averages. The sources therefore describe different dimensions of adult activity: frequency of exercise in Norway and frequency, duration, and weekly time in Irish sport participation. Sports and outdoor activities, survey on living conditions – Statistics Norway