Contents
- Exercise equipment household ownership statistics: differences by income and household type
- Exercise equipment household ownership statistics: ownership by German region and year
- exercise equipment household ownership: Home fitness equipment ownership by category in a German survey
- exercise equipment household ownership: Exercise equipment purchases reported by German households
- exercise equipment household ownership: Planned home fitness purchases and budgets in a German survey
- exercise equipment household ownership: Home exercise equipment ownership and use among Saudi study participants
- Sources
Exercise equipment household ownership statistics: differences by income and household type
Destatis’s 2023 Income and Consumption Survey (EVS) shows that the share of German households reporting at least 1 fitness device varied by both income and household composition. Among households with monthly net income of €5,000 or more, 35.8% had at least 1 device. Among households below €1,300 in monthly net income, the share was 12.3%. These percentages describe households within each income group; they do not measure the number of devices owned. Source: Destatis, 2026 household fitness-device report
Household type showed a separate pattern. In 2023, 33.5% of couple households without children reported 1 or more fitness devices, compared with 27.6% of couple households with children. For one-person households, the reported share was 18.1%. The income and household-type figures are distinct comparisons: they do not give ownership for combinations such as higher-income one-person households. Source: Destatis, 2026 household fitness-device report
| German household group, 2023 | With at least 1 fitness device |
|---|---|
| Monthly net income €5,000 or more | 35.8% |
| Monthly net income below €1,300 | 12.3% |
| Couple household without children | 33.5% |
| Couple household with children | 27.6% |
| One-person household | 18.1% |
The EVS included about 54,000 participating private households. Destatis notes that the 2023 survey was redesigned, which limits comparisons with earlier years. In previous EVS observations, equipment status was recorded as of January 1; in 2023 it was recorded at the start of each household’s recording quarter. That change in reference timing should be kept in mind when interpreting year-to-year differences. Source: Destatis, 2026 household fitness-device report
Exercise equipment household ownership statistics: ownership by German region and year
Destatis’s regional table uses the category Heimtrainer, with examples including an ergometer, treadmill, cross trainer, or weight bench. Its equipment rate is the percentage of households reporting at least 1 such item. Across Germany, the rate was 23.3% in 2018 and 25.6% in 2023. The table’s total-household row reports 40,596 thousand households in 2018 and 40,836 thousand in 2023. Source: Destatis, household and sports equipment by region and year
| Area | Households with a Heimtrainer, 2018 | Households with a Heimtrainer, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 23.3% | 25.6% |
| Former federal territory excluding West Berlin | 23.9% | 26.4% |
| New Länder and Berlin | 21.1% | 22.6% |
For each of the 3 listed areas, the reported share was higher in 2023 than in 2018. These figures concern household equipment presence, not equipment sales or exercise participation. The 2018 observation is referenced to January 1. In 2023, the EVS recorded equipment at the start of each household’s recording quarter; Destatis cautions that the redesign limits direct comparison with prior years. Source: Destatis, household and sports equipment by region and year
exercise equipment household ownership: Home fitness equipment ownership by category in a German survey
The DIFG online quota survey took place January 10–13, 2022, among German-speaking adults aged 16 and older. The household ownership question had a base of 1,007 respondents and reported projected household counts alongside percentages. It found that 67.7% of respondents’ households had fitness devices, corresponding to a projection of 26.7 million households. A further 4.1% had only fitness accessories, projected to 1.6 million households, while 27.6% reported none of the listed devices or accessories, projected to 10.9 million households. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt, Table 1
Category responses could overlap because households could report more than 1 kind of equipment. The shares below are therefore not mutually exclusive slices of a single total. Small devices were reported in 53% of households, or 20.9 million in the projection; fitness accessories in 49.2%, or 19.4 million; strength equipment in 39.2%, or 15.5 million; and cardio equipment in 35.5%, or 14.0 million. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt, Table 2
| Reported household category, DIFG 2022 | Share | Projected households |
|---|---|---|
| Small devices | 53% | 20.9 million |
| Fitness accessories | 49.2% | 19.4 million |
| Strength equipment | 39.2% | 15.5 million |
| Cardio equipment | 35.5% | 14.0 million |
The item-level results make the broad categories more concrete. Among small devices, resistance bands or Terrabands were reported in 34% of households, skipping ropes in 28%, hand grippers or massage balls in 15%, balance trainers in 10%, and suspension trainers or TRX in 4%. Dumbbells, listed under strength equipment, were reported in 36% of households. Each percentage represents whether a type was reported as present, not the number of units. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt, Figure 3
The DIFG report did not ask respondents to count individual devices. Its percentages and projected counts indicate reported presence, not quantity, price, condition, or use frequency. The online adult survey also differs from the EVS private-household survey in both its respondent base and question wording, so their results should not be treated as directly interchangeable. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt
exercise equipment household ownership: Exercise equipment purchases reported by German households
The DIFG survey asked owners of fitness devices or accessories about household purchases made during 2021. This question had a base of 723 respondents, distinct from the 1,007 used for the ownership question. Among the purchase-question base, 41.2% reported buying at least 1 fitness device in 2021, projected to 11.7 million households. Another 9.1% reported purchasing only accessories, projected to 2.6 million households. A further 49% reported none of the listed device or accessory purchases, projected to 13.9 million households. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt, Table 3
By purchase category, small devices appeared in 26.1% of responses, projected to 7.4 million households. Fitness accessories appeared in 22.3%, or 6.3 million households; cardio devices in 13.2%, or 3.7 million; and strength devices in 12.1%, or 3.4 million. These category responses can overlap. They describe reported household purchases, not units sold. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt, Table 4
| Reported 2021 purchase category | Share of purchase-question base | Projected households |
|---|---|---|
| Small devices | 26.1% | 7.4 million |
| Fitness accessories | 22.3% | 6.3 million |
| Cardio devices | 13.2% | 3.7 million |
| Strength devices | 12.1% | 3.4 million |
Ownership and purchasing cover different time frames and respondent bases. The ownership question concerned what was in the household when surveyed in January 2022. The purchase question covered purchases reported for 2021 and was asked of respondents whose households owned devices or accessories. Neither result establishes the number of items held or purchased by a household. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt, Tables 1–4
exercise equipment household ownership: Planned home fitness purchases and budgets in a German survey
In the January 2022 DIFG survey, 29% of households planned to purchase at least 1 fitness device during the coming 12 months, a projection of approximately 11.4 million households. The press release separately reported that 31% of households, about 12 million, planned further purchases of home fitness equipment or accessories during 2022. The measures differ in wording and scope; both record intentions, not completed purchases or current plans. Source: DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022, excerpt Source: DIFG press release on the 2022 home fitness market
Among households planning further purchases in 2022, 66% said they had already bought devices in the previous year and wanted to expand their training equipment. The press release also reported that 17% of respondents intended to acquire a cardio device and 14% planned to buy small devices. Each percentage describes an intention captured for 2022. Source: DIFG press release on the 2022 home fitness market
| Planned purchase category, 2022 | Average intended spending among planners |
|---|---|
| Cardio device | €451 |
| Strength equipment | €203 |
| Small devices | €51 |
The average intended budget was €451 for a cardio device, €203 for strength equipment, and €51 for small devices. Among respondents planning a cardio-device purchase, about 13% said they were willing to invest more than €1,000. These are planned amounts and a stated spending threshold, not completed expenditures. Source: DIFG press release on the 2022 home fitness market
exercise equipment household ownership: Home exercise equipment ownership and use among Saudi study participants
A study published in 2024 used an online questionnaire distributed through social media and snowball sampling. Of 1,057 participants, 506 reported owning home exercise equipment, or 47.9%. This describes the study participants; it is not a representative estimate of Saudi households. The equipment-type and use-frequency results below apply to the 506 participants who reported ownership. Source: Comparative Impact of Home Exercise Equipment on Physical Activity and Well-being among the Saudi Population, Table 2
Among equipment owners, 80.4% reported a treadmill (407 participants), 48.8% a stationary bike (247), and 48.4% dumbbells (245). An air walker was reported by 15.0% (76 participants). Additional types included a punching bag, reported by 6.7% (34); a home gym system, 6.1% (31); a vibration platform, 2.8% (14); a multifunctional trainer, 2.2% (11); and a stepper machine, 2.2% (10). Participants could report more than 1 type, so these percentages do not form exclusive shares. Source: Saudi study, Table 2
Equipment owners also reported how often they used their equipment. Use several times weekly was reported by 28.5% (144 participants); 14.0% (71) reported using it once weekly; and 6.7% (34) reported once daily. These frequency categories do not specify duration or intensity. Alongside the ownership and equipment-type results, they describe responses within this online sample, rather than population-wide rates for Saudi households. Source: Saudi study, Table 2
Sources
- 26 % der Haushalte haben ein Fitnessgerät (Destatis, 2026)
- Ausstattung privater Haushalte mit Haushalts- und Sportgeräten nach Gebietsständen im Zeitvergleich (Destatis)
- DIFG Trendstudie Heimfitness 2022: Exzerpt
- Heimfitness-Markt setzt Wachstum in 2022 weiter fort (DIFG press release)
- Comparative Impact of Home Exercise Equipment on Physical Activity and Well-being among the Saudi Population