Purpose
This report focuses on participation in play, active recreation and sport among young people and adults in 2021. Drawn from the Active NZ survey, it uses data collected during 2021 from 4824 young people and 23 239 adults.
Selected results are explored through the lenses of age, gender, ethnicity, deprivation and disability. During 2021, disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant the participation landscape differed from earlier years of the Active NZ survey. Results must be considered in this context. This report should be read alongside the Active NZ Changes in Participation report.
Key Results
By age
- Weekly participation, time spent, and average number of sports and activities participated in peak between ages 12 and 14 and then drop steeply between ages 15 and 17. The proportion meeting the physical activity guidelines drops sharply among young people between ages 15 and 17.3
- Weekly participation peaks during adult years between ages 35 and 49 and is lowest among adults aged 75-plus.
- Time spent participating peaks in adult years between ages 50 and 74 and is lowest between ages 25 and 34 and from age 75-plus. The proportion meeting the physical activity guidelines drops sharply among adults aged 75-plus and is also lower among adults between ages 25 and 34.
- Most young people and adults want to increase their participation. This is most evident between ages 12 and 17 for young people and between ages 18 and 49 for adults.
- The average number of barriers to increasing participation increases with age among young people, peaking at 3.5 barriers between ages 15 and 17. Among adults, the average number of barriers decreases with age, peaking at 4.3 barriers between ages 18 and 24.
By gender
- The only difference in weekly participation for young people and adults occurs between ages 5 and 7, where males are less likely to participate than females.
- An overall pattern is evident of males spending longer being active than females within each age band, except between ages 5 and 11 and from age 65-plus.
- Between ages 15 and 17 and 35 and 49, males are more likely than females to meet the physical activity guidelines.
- Between ages 15 and 17, more females than males want to increase their participation.
- Young and adult females have more barriers to increasing participation than their male counterparts.
By ethnicity
- Weekly participation, time spent and proportion meeting the physical activity guidelines is lower among young and adult Pacific.
- Weekly participation, time spent and the proportion meeting the physical activity guidelines is also lower among young and adult Asian.
- For young and adult Māori, weekly participation, time spent and proportion the meeting physical activity guidelines is the same as for all young people and adults.
- Young and adult Asian and Pacific young people and adults are more likely to want to increase their participation than all young people and adults.
- Pacific and Māori adults identify more barriers to participation, compared with all adults.
By deprivation
- Young people from high deprivation areas have lower levels of weekly participation, are less likely to meet the physical activity guidelines and have a greater appetite to increase their participation.
- All four indicators of weekly participation, time spent, average number of activities and meeting the physical activity guidelines are lower among adults from high deprivation areas and higher among adults from low deprivation areas. Adults from high deprivation areas have more barriers to participation than other adults.
By disability
- Young and adult disabled have lower levels of participation than their non-disabled counterparts across all four key indicators (weekly participation, time spent, average number of sports and activities and meeting the physical activity guidelines)
- Disabled young people and adults have more barriers to participation than non-disabled.