Exercise and sports participation among Singapore residents at all-time high: SportSG survey

SINGAPORE: Exercise and sports participation among Singapore residents was at an all-time high in 2022, according to findings of an annual survey by Sport Singapore (SportSG) that was released on Tuesday (Jun 27).

Seventy-four per cent of respondents surveyed last year said they exercised or participated in sports at least once a week. Among them, 44 per cent participated in such activities more than twice a week.

The overall figure of 74 per cent is an improvement from 72 per cent in 2021 and 69 per cent in 2020. It is also sharply higher than the 54 per cent in 2015 - the first year that the National Sports Participation Survey was conducted.

The top five activities among participants last year were walking (40 per cent), jogging (29 per cent), callisthenics (15 per cent), cycling (11 per cent) and swimming (9 per cent).

This is Singapore’s only national survey on exercise and sports participation. It was conducted continuously across the year, involving at least 4,500 residents - both Singapore citizens and permanent residents - aged 13 and above.

Insights from the survey are used to help authorities shape sporting programmes and initiatives for residents.

Speaking to reporters at a media event on Tuesday, SportSG CEO Alan Goh said that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive effect on participation levels.

“We saw a lot of participation increase during the pandemic because people had time and they wanted just to have access to facilities,” he said.

“People were at home and there was time to actually focus on sports and we capitalised on it to come up with programmes.”

With more people going back to the office post-pandemic, the challenge will be how to sustain such levels of participation, Mr Goh said.

“My team will just want