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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toBy ethnicity section
- 3. Navigate toBy ethnicity and gender section
- 4. Navigate toBy ethnicity and age group section
- 5. Navigate toBy ethnicity and area section
- 6. Navigate toBy ethnicity and socio-economic group section
- 7. Navigate to Methodology section
- 8. Navigate to Data sources section
- 9. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- overall, in 2017/18, 62% of people aged 16 years and over in England were classed as ‘physically active’ – that is, they did 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity a week
- people of Mixed ethnicity were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to be physically active – this has remained consistent since 2015/16
- people from the Asian ethnic group were less likely than the overall average to be physically active – again, this has remained consistent since 2015/16
- within the Asian and White British ethnic groups, men were more active than women – although the figures show differences between men and women in other ethnic groups, sample sizes were too small to make reliable generalisations
Things you need to know
Sport England’s Active Lives Survey is a ‘sample survey’: it collects information from a random sample of the population to make generalisations (reach 'findings') about the total population.
The commentary for this data only refers to differences between groups where they are 'statistically significant'. Findings are statistically significant when we can be confident that they can be repeated, and are reflective of the total population rather than just the survey sample.
Specifically, the statistical tests used mean we can be confident that if we carried out the same survey on different random samples of the population, 19 times out of 20 we would get similar findings.
Keep in mind when making comparisons between ethnic groups that all survey estimates are subject to a degree of uncertainty, as they are based on a sample of the population. The degree of uncertainty is greater when the number of respondents is small, so it will be highest for minority ethnic groups.
In some cases, charts and tables show a difference between ethnic groups, men and women, regions, or age groups, and no commentary is given. This is because it isn’t possible to say with confidence whether these differences are statistically significant.
Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding
You can see figures for 2015/16 and 2016/17 if you download the data.
What the data measures
This data measures levels of physical activity among people aged 16 and over in England, and breaks this information down by ethnicity.
The data comes from Sport England’s Active Lives Survey.
People who do 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity equivalent (MIE) physical activity a week are classed as ‘physically active’.
People who do between 30 and 149 minutes a week of MIE physical activity a week are categorised as ‘fairly active’.
People who do less than 30 minutes a week of MIE physical activity are categorised as ‘physically inactive’.
MIE physical activity raises your heart rate and leaves you feeling a little out of breath.
Physical activity of vigorous intensity means you are breathing hard and fast and your heart rate has increased significantly.
For measuring physical activity levels, 1 minute of vigorous activity is the equivalent of 2 minutes of moderate activity.
The physical activities covered in the Active Lives Survey include:
- sporting activities (team sports, racquet sports, swimming, bowls, fencing)
- fitness activities (gym session, fitness class, weights)
- cycling for sport and leisure
- cycling for travel
- walking for travel
- walking for leisure
- dance
The ethnic categories used in this data
Sports England used the following broad ethnic categories when analysing data from the Active Lives Survey:
- Asian – this data counts people from South Asian ethnic groups like Indian and Pakistani as ‘Asian’
- Black
- Chinese
- Mixed
- White British
- White Other
- Other
2. By ethnicity
Physically active | Fairly active | Physically inactive | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ethnicity | Physically active % | Physically active Number of respondents | Fairly active % | Fairly active Number of respondents | Physically inactive % | Physically inactive Number of respondents |
All | 62% | 185,732 | 12% | 185,732 | 25% | 185,732 |
Asian | 55% | 7,275 | 14% | 7,275 | 31% | 7,275 |
Black | 57% | 2,655 | 14% | 2,655 | 29% | 2,655 |
Chinese | 60% | 975 | 13% | 975 | 26% | 975 |
Mixed | 71% | 2,024 | 11% | 2,024 | 18% | 2,024 |
White British | 63% | 155,056 | 12% | 155,056 | 24% | 155,056 |
White other | 66% | 9,709 | 11% | 9,709 | 23% | 9,709 |
Other | 57% | 1,327 | 13% | 1,327 | 30% | 1,327 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Physical activity By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, in 2017/18, 62% of people aged 16 and over in England were physically active
- people with Mixed ethnicity were most likely to be physically active out of all ethnic groups (at 71%), followed by people from the White other ethnic group (at 66%)
- the percentage of physically active people in the Asian, Black, Chinese and Other ethnic groups was lower than the national average, ranging from 55% to 60%
3. By ethnicity and gender
All | Female | Male | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ethnicity | All % | All Number of Respondents | Female % | Female Number of Respondents | Male % | Male Number of Respondents |
All | 62 | 185,732 | 60 | 103,379 | 65 | 82,007 |
Asian | 55 | 7,275 | 50 | 3,794 | 59 | 3,470 |
Black | 57 | 2,655 | 54 | 1,601 | 60 | 1,048 |
Chinese | 60 | 975 | 59 | 596 | 62 | 379 |
Mixed | 71 | 2,024 | 70 | 1,238 | 73 | 779 |
White British | 63 | 155,056 | 61 | 86,126 | 65 | 68,765 |
White other | 66 | 9,709 | 64 | 5,841 | 67 | 3,854 |
Other | 57 | 1,327 | 55 | 769 | 60 | 556 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV)
Summary of Physical activity By ethnicity and gender Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, in 2017/18, 65% of men and 60% of women were classed as physically active
- within the White British and Asian ethnic groups, men were more active than women – although the figures show differences between men and women in other ethnic groups, sample sizes were too small to make reliable generalisations
- among men, those with Mixed ethnicity were more likely than average to be physically active (at 73%), while those from the Asian ethnic group were less likely than average to be (at 59%)
- among women, those with Mixed ethnicity were most likely to be physically active (at 70%), while those from the Asian, Black and Other ethnic groups were less likely than average to be active
4. By ethnicity and age group
16-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65-74 | 75+ | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ethnicity | 16-24 % | 16-24 Number of Respondents | 25-34 % | 25-34 Number of Respondents | 35-44 % | 35-44 Number of Respondents | 45-54 % | 45-54 Number of Respondents | 55-64 % | 55-64 Number of Respondents | 65-74 % | 65-74 Number of Respondents | 75+ % | 75+ Number of Respondents |
All | 76 | 11,628 | 68 | 23,178 | 66 | 28,899 | 65 | 31,499 | 60 | 35,126 | 57 | 35,307 | 35 | 18,385 |
Asian | 66 | 977 | 55 | 1,592 | 54 | 2,156 | 49 | 1,165 | 47 | 649 | 44 | 455 | 32 | 221 |
Black | 69 | 386 | 59 | 407 | 53 | 599 | 54 | 621 | 47 | 364 | 51 | 132 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Chinese | 66 | 151 | 63 | 248 | 54 | 250 | 59 | 133 | 50 | 128 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Mixed | 76 | 470 | 73 | 512 | 73 | 442 | 63 | 314 | 59 | 171 | 60 | 70 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
White British | 78 | 8,514 | 71 | 16,887 | 70 | 21,109 | 67 | 26,472 | 61 | 31,531 | 58 | 32,633 | 35 | 16,867 |
White other | 81 | 614 | 67 | 2,455 | 65 | 2,875 | 63 | 1,496 | 65 | 1,026 | 54 | 830 | 39 | 366 |
Other | 70 | 125 | 63 | 234 | 48 | 373 | 58 | 240 | 50 | 174 | 61 | 122 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age group’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age group’ (CSV)
Summary of Physical activity By ethnicity and age group Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, people became less physically active the older they were – 76% of people aged 16 to 24 years were physically active, compared with 57% of those aged 65 to 74 years
- in all age groups between 16 and 64 years, people from the Asian and Black ethnic groups were less likely than average to be physically active
- in the age group from 65 to 74 years, people from the Asian ethnic group were less likely than average to be physically active – the sample size for the Black ethnic group was too small to make reliable generalisations
- in all age groups between 16 and 54 years, White British people were more likely than average to be physically active – the sample sizes for the Mixed and White other ethnic groups in these age groups were too small to make reliable generalisations
5. By ethnicity and area
All | Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White British | White other | Other | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Geography | All % | All Number of Respondents | Asian % | Asian Number of Respondents | Black % | Black Number of Respondents | Chinese % | Chinese Number of Respondents | Mixed % | Mixed Number of Respondents | White British % | White British Number of Respondents | White other % | White other Number of Respondents | Other % | Other Number of Respondents |
East Midlands | 60 | 21,553 | 56 | 732 | 49 | 255 | 64 | 69 | 59 | 188 | 62 | 18,670 | 59 | 834 | 48 | 95 |
East | 62 | 24,874 | 54 | 716 | 65 | 286 | 68 | 115 | 68 | 248 | 62 | 21,084 | 65 | 1,412 | 61 | 145 |
London | 64 | 17,442 | 56 | 2,058 | 55 | 1,093 | 60 | 311 | 74 | 492 | 68 | 9,229 | 68 | 2,620 | 58 | 426 |
North East | 60 | 8,349 | 51 | 148 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 63 | 48 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 7,580 | 57 | 210 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
North West | 61 | 26,571 | 53 | 1,028 | 54 | 261 | 65 | 122 | 73 | 261 | 62 | 22,963 | 63 | 911 | 54 | 154 |
South East | 65 | 34,725 | 61 | 1,079 | 67 | 301 | 54 | 151 | 73 | 336 | 66 | 29,466 | 67 | 1,962 | 66 | 208 |
South West | 67 | 20,556 | 48 | 161 | 70 | 67 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 79 | 157 | 67 | 18,736 | 69 | 730 | 52 | 66 |
West Midlands | 58 | 17,282 | 52 | 918 | 54 | 243 | 58 | 68 | 64 | 162 | 59 | 14,556 | 64 | 621 | 56 | 102 |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 61 | 14,380 | 53 | 435 | 55 | 108 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 69 | 117 | 62 | 12,772 | 57 | 409 | 53 | 96 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)
Summary of Physical activity By ethnicity and area Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, rates of physical activity were highest in the South West (at 67%), the South East (at 65%) and London (at 64%); they were lowest in the West Midlands (at 58%), and the North East and the East Midlands (both at 60%)
- people from a Mixed background were more physically active than average in London, the North West, the South East, and the South West
- in 6 regions (the East, London, the North West, the South West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the West Midlands), people from the Asian ethnic group were less likely than the average for these regions to be physically active
6. By ethnicity and socio-economic group
Managerial and professional occupations | Intermediate occupations and lower supervisory | Routine and manual occupations | Long term unemployed | Full-time student or unclassified | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ethnicity | Managerial and professional occupations % | Managerial and professional occupations Number of Respondents | Intermediate occupations and lower supervisory % | Intermediate occupations and lower supervisory Number of Respondents | Routine and manual occupations % | Routine and manual occupations Number of Respondents | Long term unemployed % | Long term unemployed Number of Respondents | Full-time student or unclassified % | Full-time student or unclassified Number of Respondents |
All | 71 | 90,455 | 62 | 42,837 | 56 | 17,677 | 49 | 3,572 | 70 | 12,806 |
Asian | 59 | 3,468 | 50 | 1,334 | 48 | 748 | 42 | 478 | 64 | 1,026 |
Black | 61 | 1,178 | 52 | 495 | 53 | 292 | 43 | 151 | 64 | 448 |
Chinese | 66 | 526 | 45 | 189 | 45 | 69 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | * | 67 | 155 |
Mixed | 74 | 1,042 | 69 | 356 | 68 | 195 | 62 | 66 | 75 | 332 |
White British | 73 | 75,262 | 63 | 37,095 | 57 | 14,695 | 51 | 2,416 | 73 | 8,721 |
White other | 71 | 5,519 | 61 | 1,972 | 58 | 1,021 | 58 | 152 | 75 | 679 |
Other | 64 | 626 | 62 | 232 | 43 | 138 | 37 | 89 | 64 | 201 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and socio-economic group’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and socio-economic group’ (CSV)
Summary of Physical activity By ethnicity and socio-economic group Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, rates of physical activity were highest among people in managerial and professional occupations (at 71%), followed by full-time students (at 70%); they were lowest among the long-term unemployed (at 49%)
- among people in managerial and professional occupations, White British people were more likely than average to be physically active
- among people in managerial and professional occupations, intermediate and lower supervisory occupations, and routine and manual occupations, those from the Asian ethnic group were less likely to be physically active than those from the White British, White other and Mixed ethnic groups (small sample sizes for the Chinese group make these results less reliable)
7. Methodology
The Active Lives Survey involves up to 4 postal mail-outs designed to encourage participants to complete the survey online. A letter is sent to a household inviting up to 2 people per household to take part in the survey, either online or by requesting a paper version of the questionnaire.
The overall sample size is just under 200,000 people each year. The survey sample is randomly selected from the Royal Mail’s Postal Address File, which is a list of addresses in the UK that is maintained by the Royal Mail and has a very high coverage of private residential addresses.
Weighting:
Weighting is used to adjust the results of a survey to make them representative of the population and improve their accuracy.
For example, a survey which contains 25% women and 75% men will not accurately reflect the views of the general population, which we know has an even 50/50 split.
Statisticians rebalance or ‘weight’ the survey results to more accurately represent the general population. This helps to make them more reliable.
Data has been weighted to ONS population measures for geography and key demographics.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Results are not published when they're based on fewer than 30 respondents.
Rounding
Estimates in the charts and tables are given to the nearest whole number but all gaps and differences have been calculated on unrounded data.
You can download more detailed estimates (to 1 decimal place) if you download the data.
Related publications
Sporting Future - A New Strategy for an Active Nation
Quality and methodology information
Further technical information
Active Lives Survey 2017/2018 Year 3 Technical Note (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF)
8. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Active Lives Survey measures the number of people aged 16 and over who take part in sport and physical activity.
This data informs the government’s strategy on physical activity, Sporting Future, which looks at 5 aspects of physical activity:
- physical well-being
- mental well-being
- individual development
- social and community development
- economic development
The Active Lives Adults survey has previously been published twice a year:
- in April, covering the full year from November to November
- in October, covering covered the mid-year May to May period
Following an external consultation in early 2022, results are now only being published annually each April.
9. Download the data
This file contains the following: ethnicity, activity level, year, geography, gender, age, socio-economic status, value, denominator, numerator, upper CI, lower CI and number of respondents