Sporting Equals - Government Sport and Physical Activity statistics

Diversity in sport and physical activity is crucially important for reasons of social inclusion and health, as well as for the standard of sporting excellence and the future of local clubs. The statistics demonstrate why the work of Sporting Equals matters.

The Government recommends people should participate in at least 30 minutes a day of moderate intensity physical activity on 5 or more days a week. However:

Over half of people in black and minority ethnic (BME) communities do no sport or physical activity.

On average BME populations have a lower sports participation rate than the national average of sports participation (46%): Bangladeshi (30%), Pakistani (31%), Indian (39%) and Black Caribbean (39%) (6)

Fewer than 1 in 5 members of some BME communities are participating in physical activities as infrequently as once a month (2)

92% of South Asian women do not take part in the recommended levels of activity, compared to 55% of all women (3)

As a result, the majority of BME groups participating in sports and physical activity is lower than the national average, which results in higher risks of cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes, two diseases which are prevalent in BME communities (5)

One of the main factors contributing to such low levels of participation is a lack of BME role models who have little involvement with organising sporting activities (7)

BME communities are under-represented in official positions within sports organisations- only 7% are in the professional workforce, 3.6% in volunteer management and 3% in the coaching workforce (9)

Those from BME communities are almost 50 per cent less likely to volunteer than the general population

SportsCoach UK identified that only 5% of coaches were from BME communities

The potential benefits of participating in sport and physical activity, both for the individual and wider society, are wide-ranging. The 'Value of Sport Monitor' commissioned by Sport England and UK Sport suggests that they include physical and psychological health and well-being, active citizenship, crime reduction and community safety, positive economic impact and regeneration of local communities, education and lifelong learning.

Click here for BME Health Inequality Statistics

References

1: Birmingham City Council (2001) 2001 Population Census In Birmingham. Crown Copyright.

2, 5: Guardian Online (2004) Exercise Five Times A Week, Public Urged http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/apr/29/medicineandhealth.publichealth

3, 6-9: Sport England (2005) Identification Of Workforce & Volunteer Profiles Within Sports Organisations. Sports Structures Ltd.

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