The table below provides participation rates for specific sport and recreation activities. Activities with a combined percentage have not been ranked and are denoted by an asterisk (*) in the ranking column.
| Activity |
Percentage15(%) |
95% Confidence Interval16 |
Population Number17 |
Ranking18 |
| Walking |
64.1 |
(62.2-66.0) |
2,100,277 |
1 |
| Gardening |
43.1 |
(41.2-45.1) |
1,414,635 |
2 |
| Swimming |
34.7 |
(32.8-36.6) |
1,139,812 |
3 |
| Equipment-based exercise |
26.6 |
(24.8-28.4) |
868,271 |
4 |
| Cycling (total) |
22.7 |
(21.0-24.5) |
745,182 |
* |
| Cycling (cycling/biking) |
19.6 |
(17.9-21.4) |
644,698 |
5 |
| Fishing (total) |
19.5 |
(17.7-21.2) |
633,768 |
* |
| Jogging/running |
17.6 |
(15.9-19.3) |
574,107 |
6 |
| Dance (total) |
16.8 |
(15.2-18.5) |
549,110 |
* |
| Fishing (marine/saltwater) |
16.6 |
(15.0-18.3) |
539,446 |
7 |
| Golf |
12.8 |
(11.3-14.4) |
416,221 |
8 |
| Dance (various) |
11.5 |
(10.0-13.0) |
378,607 |
9 |
| Tramping |
9.4 |
(8.0-10.8) |
306,342 |
10 |
| Tennis |
9.3 |
(7.9-10.7) |
304,676 |
11 |
| Pilates/yoga |
9.0 |
(7.6-10.4) |
290,753 |
12 |
| Aerobics |
8.6 |
(7.2-9.9) |
277,865 |
13 |
| Cricket (total) |
7.3 |
(6.0-8.6) |
237,965 |
* |
| Football (total) |
6.8 |
(5.6-8.0) |
227,266 |
* |
| Cricket (outdoors) |
6.8 |
(5.6-8.0) |
221,219 |
14 |
| Touch rugby |
6.7 |
(5.5-7.9) |
219,953 |
15 |
| Netball (total) |
6.5 |
(5.3-7.6) |
209,771 |
* |
| Canoeing/kayaking |
6.4 |
(5.2-7.5) |
209,648 |
16 |
| Basketball |
6.3 |
(5.1-7.4) |
209,427 |
17 |
| Snow sports (total) |
6.3 |
(5.2-7.5) |
206,071 |
* |
| Cycling (mountain biking) |
6.1 |
(5.0-7.3) |
202,237 |
18= |
| Callisthenics/stretch |
6.1 |
(4.9-7.2) |
198,879 |
18= |
| Table tennis |
5.9 |
(4.7-7.0) |
194,198 |
20 |
| Rugby |
5.7 |
(4.6-6.8) |
189,661 |
21= |
| Fishing (freshwater) |
5.7 |
(4.6-6.8) |
184,784 |
21= |
| Football (outdoor) |
5.5 |
(4.4-6.6) |
185,292 |
23 |
| Hunting (total) |
4.6 |
3.6-5.6) |
150,343 |
* |
| Surfing/body boarding |
4.5 |
(3.5-5.5) |
145,620 |
24 |
| Volleyball (total) |
4.4 |
(3.4-5.4) |
148,496 |
* |
| Hunting (other) |
4.4 |
(3.4-5.4) |
143,598 |
25 |
| Squash |
3.8 |
(2.9-4.7) |
123,443 |
26= |
| Diving/scuba diving |
3.8 |
(2.9-4.7) |
121,625 |
26= |
| Badminton |
3.7 |
(2.9-4.6) |
126,482 |
28= |
| Skiing (snow, grass) |
3.7 |
(2.8-4.6) |
123,536 |
28= |
| Netball (outdoor) |
3.7 |
(2.8-4.6) |
122,829 |
28= |
| Netball (indoor) |
3.6 |
(2.8-4.5) |
116,765 |
31 |
| Bowls (outdoor/lawn) |
3.2 |
(2.4-4.0) |
105,745 |
32 |
| Aquarobics (aqua/water jogging) |
3.1 |
(2.3-3.9) |
102,554 |
33= |
| Water skiing |
3.1 |
(2.3-3.9) |
99,283 |
33= |
| Shooting (rifle & pistol) |
3.0 |
(2.3-3.8) |
101,712 |
35= |
| Horse riding/equestrian |
3.0 |
(2.2-3.8) |
99,331 |
35= |
| Motorsports (total) |
2.9 |
(2.1-3.6) |
94,863 |
* |
| Snow boarding |
2.7 |
(2.0-3.5) |
87,649 |
37 |
| Bowls (indoor) |
2.6 |
(1.9-3.3) |
85,285 |
38= |
| Boxing |
2.6 |
(1.9-3.3) |
84,192 |
38= |
| Volleyball (outdoor) |
2.5 |
(1.8-3.2) |
84,239 |
40 |
| Martial arts (total) |
2.5 |
(1.8-3.1) |
79,931 |
* |
| Athletics (track and field) |
2.4 |
(1.7-3.0) |
82,729 |
41= |
| Volleyball (indoor) |
2.4 |
(1.7-3.0) |
81,117 |
41= |
| Sailing/yachting |
2.4 |
(1.8-3.1) |
78,209 |
41= |
| Football (soccer indoor) |
2.2 |
(1.6-2.8) |
73,453 |
44 |
| Rugby league |
2.1 |
(1.5-2.7) |
68,042 |
45 |
| Hockey (total) |
2.0 |
(1.4-2.5) |
68,091 |
* |
| Skateboarding |
2.0 |
(1.4-2.6) |
66,848 |
46 |
| Hockey (outdoor) |
1.7 |
(1.2-2.3) |
60,203 |
47 |
| Motorsports (motorcycles) |
1.6 |
(1.1-2.1) |
53,485 |
48= |
| Ice skating |
1.6 |
(1.1-2.1) |
51,227 |
48= |
| Multisport/triathlon/duathlons |
1.5 |
(1.0-2.0) |
48,454 |
50 |
| Softball |
1.3 |
(0.9-1.8) |
44,925 |
51= |
| Tai chi |
1.3 |
(0.9-1.7) |
41,471 |
51= |
| Martial arts (other) |
1.2 |
(0.8-1.6) |
37,713 |
53 |
| Mountaineering/mountain climbing |
1.1 |
(0.8-1.5) |
37,868 |
54= |
| Billiards/pool/snooker |
1.1 |
(0.7-1.5) |
36,769 |
54= |
| Kapa Haka (poi, waiata-a-ringa) |
1.0 |
(0.7-1.4) |
34,683 |
56= |
| Cricket (indoors) |
1.0 |
(0.7-1.3) |
34,458 |
56= |
| Motorsports (cars) |
1.0 |
(0.7 -1.4) |
34,340 |
56= |
| Waka ama |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Martial arts (karate) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Rollerblading |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Archery |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Ten pin bowling |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Croquet |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Orienteering /rogaining |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Wrestling |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Fencing |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Windsurfing |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Gymnastics |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Martial arts (taekwondo) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Rock climbing (total) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Darts |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Hunting (deer stalking/pig hunting) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Hockey (indoor) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| In-line skating |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Kilikiti |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Marching |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Motorsports (karts) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Water polo |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Baseball |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Diving (springboard) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Gliding |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Martial arts (judo) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Rock climbing (indoor) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Rock climbing/bouldering (outdoor) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Rowing |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Surf life saving |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Australian rules football |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| BMX/FMX |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Ice hockey (indoor) |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Korfball |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Mau rakau/taiaha |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Gaelic football |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Lacrosse |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
| Polo |
< 1.0 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
15 This column indicates the proportion of New Zealand adults who participated in the specific activity over 12-months. The data have been weighted to be representative of the New Zealand adult population. Age standardised rates are presented for activities with a percentage ≥ 1%.
16 A confidence interval (CI) is the likely range of the true value. A CI has a given probability (e.g. 95%) that a true value, such as a proportion or percentage, lies within an interval or range. A CI is provided for all activities with a percentage ≥1%.
17 The population number indicates the number of New Zealand adults who participated in a specific activity. For example, 306,342 New Zealand adults participated in tramping at least once over 12-months.
18 Each activity has been ranked from highest to lowest participation level (%), with the exception of activities where a combined percentage is presented, for example, cycling (total) and fishing (total).