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October 2022 - Sport, Leisure and Tourism

45% of adults in Northern Ireland participated in sport at least once in the last year: The findings of the latest Continuous Household survey have revealed that in the year 2021 to 2022, 45% of people in Northern Ireland participated in sport at least once in the last year - although the report notes that this excludes walking as an activity. Almost two in five NI adults said they participated in sport over the last month.

The survey which polled adults in Northern Ireland and was published in October 2022 also found that females were less likely to have participated in sport at least once in the last year (37% versus 53%), while it was a similar story when looking at participation in the last month (31% versus 43%).

Younger people were found to participate more in sports in the last year (62%) compared to just over a fifth of adults aged 65+ (22%).

In addition, adults living in rural areas were less likely to have participated in sports in the last year compared to those in urban areas (43% versus 47%), while those with dependents were found to be more likely to have participated (49% versus 43%).

When it comes to the types of sports that people have participated in, the survey found that keep-fit, aerobics, dance, yoga, and weight training were the most popular over the last year (19%), followed by jogging (13%), cycling (12%) and swimming or diving (9%).

Looking at the differences between male and female respondents the survey found that male respondents participated more than females in most of the sports listed, with the exception of aerobics, dance, yoga and weight training (21% versus 17%). The weighting for the other sports listed were:

• Jogging (15% versus 10%)
• Cycling (16% versus 7%)
• Football (14% versus 1%)
• Swimming/diving (9% versus 9%)

Walking for recreation 

Looking at walking for recreation, the survey found that more than two thirds of Northern Irish adults (69%) participated in walking for recreation in the last 12 months, with more women walking for enjoyment than men (74% versus 64%).

Just over a third of adults who had not taken part in any sporting activities participated in walking for recreation within the last year (34%), while a higher proportion of women who did not participate in sports (42%) had walked for recreation than non-sport participating males (26%), found the survey. 

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