Contents
- Inclusive sport program participation statistics: disability sport participation levels and gaps
- Inclusive sport program participation statistics: Welsh community program reach and opportunities
- Inclusive sport program participation statistics: representation in Welsh community sport
- Inclusive sport program participation statistics: sport and activity choices in Ireland
- Inclusive sport program participation: club membership, events, and volunteering
- Inclusive sport program participation: Canadian organization participation and leisure
- Sources
Inclusive sport program participation statistics: disability sport participation levels and gaps
Participation statistics capture different experiences: playing sport regularly, taking part on a survey day, joining an organization, or spending time in leisure. They help describe inclusion, but the measures have different populations, periods and definitions. In Ireland, 32% of respondents with a long-term illness, health issue or disability restricting daily activities played sport regularly in 2023. The comparison was 52% among respondents without such a condition. The Irish Sports Monitor explicitly describes this as a 20 percentage point disability gap and says it was consistent with the gap measured in 2022. These figures measure regular sports participation, not attendance at a particular inclusive program. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, p. 70
The same Irish report distinguishes overall participation from the variety of sport among people who already played. In 2023, 25% of sports participants with a disability played multiple sports, compared with 38% of sports participants without a disability. The denominator is people who played sport in each group, rather than all respondents. This indicator therefore describes breadth among participants; it does not give the overall share of disabled respondents who played sport. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, p. 70
Canadian time-use data record a different kind of participation. On the 2015 General Social Survey reference day, 15.0% of persons with disabilities aged 15 and over took part in sports, exercise or outdoor activities. The rate for persons without disabilities aged 15 and over was 21.2%. A single reference day offers a snapshot of activity, not an annual participation rate or a measure of membership. Source: Statistics Canada, Time use among persons with disabilities in Canada, Table 5
Singapore’s Disability Sports Master Plan release reports a disability sports participation rate of 28% in 2015 and 46% in 2023. It also says that about 55,000 persons with disabilities had taken part in disability sports programmes since the plan began in 2016, as of 20 November 2024. The cumulative programme participation count and the two annual rates describe separate measures: one concerns reported programme involvement over time, while the others are rates for specific years. Source: Singapore Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Disability Sports Master Plan 2024 – Ten Strategic Moves Announced
| Measure | Population and period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Regular sport participation | Ireland, respondents with a long-term illness or disability, 2023 | 32% |
| Regular sport participation | Ireland, respondents without a long-term illness or disability, 2023 | 52% |
| Sports, exercise or outdoor activities on survey reference day | Canada, persons with disabilities aged 15 and over, 2015 | 15.0% |
| Sports, exercise or outdoor activities on survey reference day | Canada, persons without disabilities aged 15 and over, 2015 | 21.2% |
| Disability sports participation rate | Singapore, 2015 | 28% |
| Disability sports participation rate | Singapore, 2023 | 46% |
Sources: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, p. 70; Statistics Canada, Time use among persons with disabilities in Canada, Table 5; Singapore Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Disability Sports Master Plan 2024 – Ten Strategic Moves Announced
Inclusive sport program participation statistics: Welsh community program reach and opportunities
The Welsh National Sport Snapshot presents provider-reported activity from inclusive clubs and sessions across Wales. A total of 171 representatives completed the survey. Their responses recorded 3,278 disabled participants engaging in sport and physical activity during January–December 2025, across 48 types of activity. The survey launched in January 2026, after the activity period covered. This is a report of participants seen by responding providers, not a census of disabled people in Wales or a population prevalence estimate. Source: Disability Sport Wales, National Sport Snapshot Survey Report: January 2025–December 2025, pp. 3, 13
Providers also reported 171 opportunities for disabled people to take part in sport or physical activity across 2025. The report classified 136 as club opportunities, 23 as sessions and 12 as other delivery formats. The counts describe ways that activities were offered, not the number of participants at each opportunity or how often a particular person attended. Keeping the provision measures separate from participant totals helps clarify what the snapshot does and does not show. Source: Disability Sport Wales, National Sport Snapshot Survey Report: January 2025–December 2025, p. 11, Theme 2 and Graph 2
| Welsh measure | Period or scope | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Representatives from inclusive clubs and sessions completing the survey | Survey launched January 2026 | 171 |
| Disabled participants reported engaging in sport and physical activity | January–December 2025 | 3,278 |
| Types of sport and physical activity reported | January–December 2025 | 48 |
| Participation opportunities | 2025 | 171 |
| Club opportunities | 2025 | 136 |
| Session opportunities | 2025 | 23 |
| Other delivery formats | 2025 | 12 |
The Welsh opportunity count and the Singapore programme count provide different views of reach. Wales reports provider opportunities during a single activity year, while Singapore reports cumulative programme participation since 2016 through 20 November 2024. Neither count by itself shows how often individuals participated, and the two should not be compared as if they used the same unit or coverage. Sources: Disability Sport Wales, National Sport Snapshot Survey Report: January 2025–December 2025, p. 11; Singapore Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Disability Sports Master Plan 2024 – Ten Strategic Moves Announced
Inclusive sport program participation statistics: representation in Welsh community sport
Among the 3,278 participants reported by responding Welsh providers, 396 were Welsh-speaking, 188 were from an ethnically diverse community, and 71 identified as LGBTQI+. These are counts recorded within the survey’s reported participants. They are not population representation rates, and the report does not make them estimates of the share of all disabled people in Wales with those characteristics. Source: Disability Sport Wales, National Sport Snapshot Survey Report: January 2025–December 2025, p. 17
The snapshot also lists participants by impairment-related categories. It recorded 240 people with visual impairment, described as blind or partially sighted, and 412 people with hearing impairment, described as D/deaf or hard of hearing. The learning impairment or disability category contained 1,222 participants. For physical impairment, the report listed 72 ambulant participants with a prosthetic, 477 ambulant participants without a prosthetic, and 300 wheelchair users. Source: Disability Sport Wales, National Sport Snapshot Survey Report: January 2025–December 2025, pp. 7, 18, Table 4
| Reported characteristic | Count |
|---|---|
| Welsh-speaking participants | 396 |
| Participants from an ethnically diverse community | 188 |
| Participants identifying as LGBTQI+ | 71 |
| Visual impairment: blind or partially sighted | 240 |
| Hearing impairment: D/deaf or hard of hearing | 412 |
| Learning impairment or disability | 1,222 |
| Physical impairment, ambulant with a prosthetic | 72 |
| Physical impairment, ambulant without a prosthetic | 477 |
| Physical impairment, wheelchair users | 300 |
The report identifies a collection limitation for impairment information: the question was optional, and some providers did not collect or know the answer. The counts should therefore be read as recorded responses from participating providers. The report’s categories are retained as presented; the checked figures do not establish that categories are mutually exclusive, so adding them into a combined impairment total would not be supported. Source: Disability Sport Wales, National Sport Snapshot Survey Report: January 2025–December 2025, pp. 7, 18, Table 4
Inclusive sport program participation statistics: sport and activity choices in Ireland
The Irish Sports Monitor’s 2023 disability spotlight identifies personal exercise as the most popular listed sport among respondents with a disability, at 11%. Swimming followed at 6%. Cycling, running and yoga were each reported at 3%. The source’s population is respondents with a long-term illness or disability; these are sport participation measures, not shares of places in dedicated inclusive programmes. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, pp. 70–71, Figure 8.2
Weights, dancing and golf each registered 2%, while soccer was 1%. This is a selection of activity categories shown by the report, rather than a complete inventory of everything respondents did. The measured pattern places personal exercise at the top of the listed categories and soccer at the bottom; it does not explain why respondents chose any activity. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, pp. 70–71, Figure 8.2
| Listed activity among respondents with a disability | Participation in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Personal exercise | 11% |
| Swimming | 6% |
| Cycling | 3% |
| Running | 3% |
| Yoga | 3% |
| Weights | 2% |
| Dancing | 2% |
| Golf | 2% |
| Soccer | 1% |
Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, pp. 70–71, Figure 8.2
Inclusive sport program participation: club membership, events, and volunteering
Sport involvement can include playing, belonging to a club, attending events and volunteering. In Ireland in 2023, 23% of respondents with a disability were sports club members, compared with 39% of respondents without a disability. Sports event attendance was reported by 15% and 21%, respectively. Sport volunteering was reported by 8% of respondents with a disability and 12% without. These are distinct social participation measures; they should not be substituted for the regular-play figures. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, p. 72, Figure 8.3
Multiple-club membership was reported by 16% of respondents with a disability and 29% without a disability. The report also records coaching roles for 3% of respondents with a disability involved in volunteering roles, compared with 6% of those without a disability. That coaching figure uses the narrower population of people involved in volunteering roles, rather than all respondents. Source: Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report, pp. 71–72
| Social participation measure, Ireland 2023 | With a disability | Without a disability |
|---|---|---|
| Sports club membership | 23% | 39% |
| Attendance at sports events | 15% | 21% |
| Volunteering in sport | 8% | 12% |
| Multiple sports club membership | 16% | 29% |
| Coaching roles among respondents involved in volunteering roles | 3% | 6% |
Inclusive sport program participation: Canadian organization participation and leisure
Canadian organization participation is defined as membership in or participation in a sports or recreational organization during the previous 12 months. In 2020, 46% of men+ with disabilities aged 15 and over reported this involvement, compared with 56% of men+ without disabilities. Among women+, 38% of those with disabilities reported organization participation. The checked figures do not provide the corresponding women+ comparison value, so the complete men+ comparison is the appropriate side-by-side series here. The source notes that men+ and women+ include redistributed non-binary respondents for confidentiality. Source: Canadian Indicators for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Article 30, Figure 12.1 and note
| Canada, 2020 organization membership or participation | Reported result |
|---|---|
| Men+ with disabilities, aged 15 and over | 46% |
| Men+ without disabilities, aged 15 and over | 56% |
| Women+ with disabilities, aged 15 and over | 38% |
Time-use indicators describe leisure differently from organization participation. In 2022, men+ with disabilities aged 15 and over averaged 3.5 hours per day in active leisure activities; men+ without disabilities averaged 3.2 hours. Women+ with disabilities averaged 2.5 hours per day in active leisure, while women+ without disabilities averaged 2.2 hours. These are daily averages for active leisure, not hours spent exclusively in organized sport. Source: Canadian Indicators for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Article 30, Figure 12.3 and note
The same source reports passive leisure averages for 2022. Men+ with disabilities aged 15 and over averaged 3.8 hours per day, compared with 3.3 hours for men+ without disabilities. Women+ with disabilities averaged 3.5 hours per day in passive leisure, compared with 3.1 hours for women+ without disabilities. Active and passive leisure are reported as separate categories; together, these measures provide context about time use rather than a direct count of sport participation. Source: Canadian Indicators for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Article 30, Figure 12.4 and note
| Average daily leisure time in Canada, 2022 | Men+ with disabilities | Men+ without disabilities | Women+ with disabilities | Women+ without disabilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active leisure | 3.5 hours | 3.2 hours | 2.5 hours | 2.2 hours |
| Passive leisure | 3.8 hours | 3.3 hours | 3.5 hours | 3.1 hours |
Sources
- National Sport Snapshot Survey Report: January 2025–December 2025
- Disability Sports Master Plan 2024 – Ten Strategic Moves Announced
- Irish Sports Monitor 2023 Annual Report
- Time use among persons with disabilities in Canada
- Canadian Indicators for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Article 30