Sport and physical activity in EU: new data

New Eurobarometer on sport and physical activity 2022

The updated edition of the 2022 Eurobarometer on Sport, the European Commission’s study describing the state of the art of sports practice in the various EU countries, was published on September 19. This is an important edition, the first in the post-restrictions era since Covid-19.

1. 38 percent of Europeans engage in sports and physical activity at least once a week, compared to 17 percent who do it less than once a week.
2. 45% of Europeans never engage in a sport and physical activity.
3. Italy, 3% say they play sports regularly, compared to 6% in the EU. 31% play sports with some regularity and 10% say they rarely practice them. Fifty-six percent of the Italian respondents never engage in a sporting activity, compared with 45% of the EU respondents. On the other hand, 28% say they practice other physical activities with some regularity such as biking, dancing, gardening.
4. They practice with some regularity those between the ages of 15 and 24, who account for 54 percent.
5. Motivations in Italy: improving one’s health (48 percent), desire to feel fit (42 percent) and trying new methods of relaxation (31 percent).
6. Obstacles: lack of time, lack of motivation or interest in sports. This figure affects 40%.
7. Willingness to do physical activity and sports outdoors, followed by the intention to do it at home (16 percent).
8. More than four out of ten Europeans spend between 2 hours and 31 minutes and 5 hours and 30 minutes sitting in a normal day. In Italy, sedentariness affects 42% of people surveyed.
9. Gender: men are found to engage in physical activity more regularly than women (70% vs 62%).
10. EU: physical inactivity rates remain “alarmingly high.” While the percentage of Europeans who never engage in physical activity or never play a sport decreased slightly between 2017 and 2022, it has increased since 2009, from 39% to 42% in 2013, 46% in 2017, and 45% in 2022.