Distribution of how often people exercise or play sport in the EU 2017, by employment

This statistic displays the results of a survey on the frequency with which individuals exercise or play sport in the European Union (EU) in 2017, characterised by employment. The survey was conducted via face-to-face interviews and gathered data from 28,031 respondents across Europe, in December 2017. Within this survey there is a clear distinction between the frequency with which individuals from different employment categories exercise or play sport. The employment categories that most frequently exercise or participate in sports are the students, with only 16 percent suggesting that they never participate. In contrast to this almost half of manual workers surveyed and 67 percent of ‘house persons’ never exercises or play sport.

Reasons for participation

The most frequently offered reason for participating in physical activity and sport include are to improve health and to improve fitness. Other popular reasons include relaxing, having fun and improving physical performance. Conversely the frequently offered reason for a lack of participation is a lack of time, an attribute that can be directly related to the distribution of participation shown in this statistic. More information about sports in Europe can be found in the Dossier: Fitness industry in Europe.