The number of people playing sport and taking part in physical activity has returned to where it was before Covid-19, but inequalities remain.
The figures Sport England have published today, show that the overall number of people playing sport and getting active has recovered, after participation fell as a result of the restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus.
Key findings
The latest Active Lives Adult Survey report is the first release to cover a period without any coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions since the pandemic.
It shows , between November 2021 and November 2022, 63.1% (29.1 million) of the population met the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines of doing 150 minutes, or more, of moderate intensity physical activity a week – an increase of 1.7% year on year.
This means that, compared with when Sport England first ran the survey between November 2015 and November 2016, there are 1.5m more active adults – a statistically significant number.
The number of people classed as inactive – averaging fewer than 30 minutes a week – has fallen over the last year by 1.4%, to 25.8% of the population (11.9m). This remains slightly above pre-pandemic levels but is in line with where they were in 2015-16.
Inequalities remain
However, while the overall picture is positive and there is clear progress, the data shows that the scale of recovery has varied across different sections of society with women, those from lower socio-economic groups and Black and Asian people still less likely to be active than others.
Read more about the key findings here.
Access the full report here.