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The
Figures
Northern Ireland Sport - the Figures
The majority of the
population in Northern Ireland participate in sport
- Almost 6 out of 10 of the
adult population (59%) participate in one or more sports including walking
- 72% of 16 - 19 year olds
participate compared to 62% of 20 - 24 year olds
- The three most popular
activities are walking, swimming and keep fit. 4 out of 10 people go walking.
Just over 1 out of 10 people go swimming and just under 1 in 10 are involved in
keep fit
- Leaving out those people who
only walk shows that around 4 out of 10 people (38%) take part in sport and
physical activities
- Actively participating in
sport appeals more to men than women and to younger rather than older people.
Almost 7 out of 10 men (67%) participate compared to just over 5 out of 10 women
(53%)
Where do people in Northern
Ireland play their sport?
- Around 12% of people in
Northern Ireland are members of sports clubs
- Most people take part in
activities informally away from clubs either in parks or leisure centres
- Around 15% of adult
participants regularly participate in sport in leisure centres
- Approximately 5% of adults are
involved in competitive sport at some time in a year
- About 4% of adults receive
instruction or coaching in their chosen sport
People's views on Sport in
Northern Ireland
- Sports and physical activities
are enjoyed by people from all backgrounds in Northern Ireland. Individual
sports vary in popularity between Catholic and Protestant communities. Gaelic
football and Hurling are viewed as exclusively associated with the Catholic
tradition
- almost 8 out of 10 people from
all communities feel it is important that Northern Ireland achieves
international sporting success
- 8 out of 10 people believe
that participants in their sport play fairly and by the rules, show self
discipline and accept the decisions of officials
Sport is economically
beneficial in Northern Ireland
- People in Northern Ireland
spend a total of £600,000 every day on sports related activities
- Northern Ireland's sporting
industry supports 12,500 jobs
- Sport contributes £254
million to Northern Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP). This far exceeds the
contribution of around £120 million received from local and central government
Sport adds enormously to
people's quality of life
- Collectively people in
Northern Ireland derive a strong sense of pride, locally and nationally, from
sport
- Young people place
considerable importance on sport in their lives
- Individually it has been
demonstrated that being physically active in Northern Ireland is associated with
less of the most serious health problems affecting the population
- People active in sport for
three quarters of their lives have a much lower incidence of heart disease,
angina or breathlessness than those less active
- Those people active through
sport have low coronary risk scores
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