In 2019, over 49 percent of the Welsh population failed to participate in sport at least once a week. There is a significant age dependent variation to the proportion of the population that participated in sports. Of those ages, 79 percent of those aged 16-24 participated in sports within the previous four weeks, compared to 43 percent and 17 percent of those aged 65-74, and 75 and over, respectively. The frequency of participation also appears to depend on the gender of the respondent, with 54 percent of female respondents participating in sport less than once a week compared to 44 percent of male respondents.
Sports participation can contribute to keeping children and young people in Wales physically active. In 2019, approximately 19 percent of respondents in a nationally representative survey advised that their child spent time outdoors more than once a day, with approximately 76 percent of respondents suggesting that the most recent outdoors activity their child participated in was playing outdoors.