Contents
- women participation in sport statistics: women’s overall participation
- women participation in sport statistics across sports and activities
- women participation in sport statistics by age and life stage
- women participation in sport statistics: reasons for taking part and barriers
- women participation in sport statistics: participation frequency and duration
- women participation in sport: Women’s participation in organised sport and clubs
- Sources
women participation in sport statistics: women’s overall participation
Women’s participation figures describe different things depending on the survey. Some count sport and physical exercise during a quarter; others ask about activity in the past week or year, or record an annual regular-participation rate. The populations and activity definitions also differ. These results are best read within their stated scopes rather than as one international ranking.
In Ireland, 72.9% of women aged 15–74 participated in sport or physical activity in Q3 2025. The Central Statistics Office counted 1,503,300 women participants in that age range during the quarter. The rate and count describe the same survey scope. The measure includes physical activity as well as sport. Source: Central Statistics Office, Labour Force Survey - Sports and Physical Exercise Q3 2025
Other national measures have different recall periods and wording:
| Location and period | Measure and population | Women’s result |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland, Q3 2025 | Sport or physical activity; ages 15–74 | 72.9%; 1,503,300 women |
| Ireland, 2024 | Sport in the past week; adults aged 16+ | 47% |
| Singapore, 2024 | Annual regular sport and exercise participation rate | 72% |
| Australia, 2025 | Sport-related activity at least weekly; women aged 15+ | 21%; estimated 2.4 million |
| Canada, 2019–2021 | Sport in the prior 12 months; women aged 18+ | 19% |
The Irish Sports Monitor reported regular sports participation of 47% among adults aged 16+ in 2024, based on involvement in sport or physical activities within the past week. The reported gender gap was 3 percentage points: men’s rate was 50% and women’s rate was 47%. Singapore’s annual table records a 72% regular sport and exercise participation rate for females in 2024. Sources: Sport Ireland, Irish Sports Monitor 2024 - Spotlight on Participation in Sport, pp. 5, 9; Singapore Department of Statistics, Regular Participation Rate Of Sport And Exercise By Sex, Annual](https://data.gov.sg/datasets/d_2d565f0c1a8edf09446939f61495a2e4/view)
Australia’s 2025 headline is an estimated 2.4 million women aged 15+ (21%) participating in a sport-related activity at least once a week. In Canada, 19% of women aged 18+ reported sport participation during the prior 12 months in the 2019–2021 survey. Those figures use different recall periods and activity wording, so direct percentage comparisons would not establish which population is more active. Sources: Australian Sports Commission, Women in sport; Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Sport participation among women](https://cflri.ca/publication/sport-participation-among-women/)
women participation in sport statistics across sports and activities
In the CSO’s Q3 2025 Irish survey, the leading listed activities among women participants were walking or hiking (27.3%) and gym-based activities (25.5%). Swimming accounted for 11.3%, running for 7.4%, cycling for 4.4% and soccer for 1.2%. These percentages come from the activity table for people aged 15–74 who participated in sport or physical exercise; they are not shares of all women in Ireland. Source: Central Statistics Office, Labour Force Survey - Sports and Physical Exercise Q3 2025, Table 1
The Irish Sports Monitor’s 2024 profile covers adults aged 16+ and participation within the past week. Among women, its listed results include swimming (9%), dancing (6%), running (6%), yoga (5%), cycling (3%), Gaelic football (2%), golf (1%) and hurling or camogie (1%). Source: Sport Ireland, Irish Sports Monitor 2024 - Spotlight on Participation in Sport, p. 9, Figure 4
| Activity | Ireland, Q3 2025: women participants | Ireland, 2024: women, past week |
|---|---|---|
| Walking or hiking | 27.3% | — |
| Gym-based activities | 25.5% | — |
| Swimming | 11.3% | 9% |
| Running | 7.4% | 6% |
| Cycling | 4.4% | 3% |
| Soccer | 1.2% | — |
| Dancing | — | 6% |
| Yoga | — | 5% |
| Gaelic football | — | 2% |
| Golf | — | 1% |
| Hurling or camogie | — | 1% |
The CSO and Irish Sports Monitor figures for swimming, running and cycling come from separate survey frames and periods. They should not be read as a time trend. The lists also illustrate how a survey’s categories can include both conventional sports and broader exercise activities. Sources: Central Statistics Office, Labour Force Survey - Sports and Physical Exercise Q3 2025, Table 1; Sport Ireland, Irish Sports Monitor 2024 - Spotlight on Participation in Sport, p. 9](https://www.sportireland.ie/sites/default/files/media/document/2025-10/Sport%20Ireland%20ISM%202024%20-%20Spotlight%20Chapter%20on%20Participation.pdf)
women participation in sport statistics by age and life stage
In Canada’s 2019–2021 survey, sport participation during the prior 12 months was reported by 40% of women aged 18–24 and 10% of women aged 65+. These are the reported age endpoints; they do not provide rates for every group between them. Source: Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Sport participation among women
Scottish Health Survey figures from 2021 measure meeting recommended physical activity levels, rather than sport participation alone. Among women aged 16–24, 75% met those levels; among women aged over 75, the reported rate was 39%. Because the indicator covers physical activity, it should not be described as a sport-only rate. Source: sportscotland, Women & girls, Physical activity levels
Girls Active survey results concern pupils aged 7–18 and were collected between October 2023 and June 2024. Enjoyment of PE was reported by 86% of girls aged 7–8 and 56% of girls aged 14–15. In Scotland, Active Schools sessions reached 37% of girls in primary schools and 20% of girls in secondary schools in 2021/22. These findings describe girls’ school experiences and session participation, not adult women’s participation rates. Sources: Youth Sport Trust, Girls Active National Reports 2024; sportscotland, Women & girls, School activity](https://sportscotland.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/research-and-data/research/topical-issues/women-girls)
women participation in sport statistics: reasons for taking part and barriers
Among Irish women participating in sport or physical exercise in Q3 2025, improving physical health and fitness was cited by 87.9% as a reason for taking part. Improving mental well-being was cited by 51.1%, and the social element by 24.6%. Other reported reasons included improving performance (10.6%) and participation in competitions (6.0%). These are respondents’ stated reasons, not evidence that participation caused a particular outcome. Source: Central Statistics Office, Labour Force Survey - Sports and Physical Exercise Q3 2025, Table 5
Among women in Ireland who did not participate in Q3 2025, 27.3% cited family commitments, 26.7% cited work, and 22.4% cited illness, injury or disability. These responses apply to non-participants, not all women, and do not establish why any individual did not take part. Source: Central Statistics Office, Labour Force Survey - Sports and Physical Exercise Q3 2025, Reasons for not partaking
Girls Active findings identify reported school barriers and preferences. Lack of confidence was said to stop 46% of girls aged 14–15 from being more active at school, compared with 26% of girls aged 7–8. Periods were identified as the biggest participation barrier by 47% of girls aged 11–13 and 52% of girls aged 14–15. The survey also found that 58% of girls wanted more PE kit options. Source: Youth Sport Trust, Girls Active National Reports 2024, Barriers
PE kit confidence also differed by age: 1 in 4 girls aged 11–13 felt confident in their PE kit, compared with 65% of girls aged 7–8. These findings sit alongside the reported demand for more kit options. They describe girls’ experiences in school and do not by themselves explain adult participation patterns. Source: Youth Sport Trust, Girls Active National Reports 2024, Barriers
women participation in sport statistics: participation frequency and duration
Canada’s 2019–2021 figures describe regularity among women who reported sport participation. For participation across the year, 28% reported taking part for 6 to 11 months, while 20% said they participated all year long. These categories refer to months of participation, not sessions completed. Source: Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Sport participation among women, Figure 2
For typical weekly frequency, 19% of women participants took part at least 4 times per week, 41% participated 2 to 3 times per week, and 27% participated once a week. These figures describe frequency among women reporting sport participation, not population-wide rates. Source: Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, Sport participation among women, Figure 2
women participation in sport: Women’s participation in organised sport and clubs
Australian 2025 figures distinguish weekly sport-related activity from participation in non-playing roles. An estimated 853,000 girls aged 0–14 (37%) participated in organised sport-related activity outside school hours at least once a week. Among Australian women aged 15+, an estimated 2.4 million (21%) participated in a sport-related activity at least weekly. These figures cover separate age groups and activity definitions. Source: Australian Sports Commission, Women in sport, Participation – 2025
The Australian summary also reports specific groups. An estimated 220,000 women aged 18+ with disability (11%) took part in sport-related activity at least weekly in 2025. For First Nations women aged 18+, the estimate was 82,000 (23%). Among women aged 18+ who spoke a language other than English at home, 344,000 (22%) participated at least weekly. Each percentage applies to its named population; the groups should not be added together or treated as mutually exclusive. Source: Australian Sports Commission, Women in sport, Participation – 2025
Organised sport involvement can also include non-playing roles. Around 1.3 million Australian females aged 15+ (11%) were involved in a non-playing sport role at least once during the previous 12 months, according to the 2025 participation summary. This is a role measure with a 12-month period, distinct from weekly activity figures. Source: Australian Sports Commission, Women in sport, Participation – 2025
In Scotland, women and girls accounted for 26% of Sports Governing Body club members in 2021. The source reports 645,502 members in total, including 102,245 women and 67,276 girls. The 26% combines women and girls, so it is a club-membership measure for both groups rather than a women-only participation rate. Source: sportscotland, Women & girls, Club activity