News

02/12/2025 00:00, In Blog / Club Notice Board /

The National Survey for Wales is a large-scale, random sample survey of adults aged 16 and over living in Wales. Managed by the Welsh Government on behalf of public bodies, it provides robust insight into the nation’s behaviours, attitudes, and wellbeing.

Since 2016, Sport Wales has been responsible for the sport participation and demand questions included within the survey. In 2024–25, around 6,000 adults across Wales took part through telephone interviews and online questionnaires.

Participation Headlines

The latest findings show that:

• 59% of adults in Wales took part in sport or physical activity in the last four weeks.
• 35% of adults said they would like to participate more.

A key section of the report focuses on participation across different sport types — and this year’s results highlight a standout trend.

Jogging/Running Remains Wales’ Most Popular Sport

Jogging or running, including athletics, was confirmed as the number one participation sport in Wales, with:

• 315,000 adults (12.8%) taking part in the last four weeks
• An increase of 22,000 participants compared to the 2022–23 survey
• 56,000 adults expressing a desire to take part more often

What Would Encourage More Adults to Run?

The top factors adults said would support increased participation in jogging or running were:

1. Having more time / being less busy with work (44%)
2. More facilities, clubs, or groups nearby (41%)
3. Lower cost (31%)

Hannah Baulch, Head of Participation at Welsh Athletics, responds:

It’s fantastic to see running and athletics continue to be the number one participation sport in Wales, whilst also seeing significant growth in participation and demand.

We will continue to work with our clubs, groups, and partners like parkrun and The Daily Mile, to help increase opportunities for participation, whilst also working closely with facility providers to help increase facilities across Wales.

Read the full report here.