Who plays sport?

This article is 5 years old. Click here to view the latest articles for this topic.

The national picture

Sport England’s data gives an insight into who plays sport and how they play it.

Sport England’s data for 2013/14 shows that:

15.6 million adults now play sport at least once a week. That’s 1.7 million more than in 2005/6
In addition, over 900,000 14–15-year-olds play sport at least once a week
Most adults – 52% – still do not play sport
17.4% of adults now take part in at least three sport sessions a week – up from 15.5% in 2005/6
There has been a statistically significant increase in six out of the nine English regions from 2005/6 to 2013/14.

The number of adults who play sport at least once a week is on the rise – but just over half of all adults play no sport.