Sport in Numbers

Internal proof of concept. Not an official Statistics Portugal publication. Values come from the Statistics Portugal database; calculation rules marked provisional await approval. Plain-language titles and sentences are drafts awaiting approval by Statistics Portugal.

How many people take part in federated sport?

844,186 athletes registered with sports federations in 2024.

Up 9.1% from 2023.

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Changes the charts that show a single calendar year. Those showing school years, months or change over time stay as they are.

Athletes by sport: men and women

2024

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Athletes by sport: men and women, 2024
Sport modalitiesMenWomen
Football219,36519,076
Others80,56942,447
Swimming56,53871,553
Handball33,96223,567
Volleyball25,40035,501
Basketball20,81710,542
Tennis17,4768,803
Cycling16,8571,424
Athletics14,5639,272
Golf14,3543,832
Judo14,2545,467
Karate12,5195,718
Roller skating7,13011,810
Rugby7,045581
Columbofilia6,822249
Automobilism5,230322
Shooting4,668896
Table tennis2,829730
Sailing2,5791,073
Gymnastics2,57723,268
Sport fishing2,40992

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Number of athletes over time

2015 to 2024

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Number of athletes over time, 2015 to 2024
PeriodTotalMenWomen
2015566,366410,353156,013
2016594,795425,066169,729
2017624,001438,721185,280
2018667,715464,526203,189
2019688,894471,404217,490
2020587,812423,737164,075
2021483,829340,794143,035
2022686,214474,029212,185
2023773,845529,928243,917
2024844,186567,963276,223

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Athletes by district and autonomous region

2024

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Athletes by district and autonomous region, 2024
Geographic localization (Distrito)Number (No.)
Lisboa175,649
Porto136,343
Aveiro60,540
Faro57,219
Setúbal52,070
Braga51,311
Leiria46,707
Coimbra32,714
Santarém32,661
Viseu31,004
Região Autónoma dos Açores27,117
Região Autónoma da Madeira26,242
Viana do Castelo24,793
Portalegre19,884
Évora15,950
Vila Real15,535
Beja12,688
Guarda10,693
Castelo Branco9,859
Bragança4,583

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About these data

Show sources, notes, calculation rules and citation

Sources, units, dates, notes, calculation rules, citation and provenance of every chart and table on this page.

Reference
Measure D01 of the list of selected indicators: Practitioners enrolled in sports federations — number

Comparison with the previous period

Change calculated by the project from the published values (2024: 844,186; 2023: 773,845): (844,186 − 773,845) ÷ 773,845 × 100 = 9.1%, rounded to one decimal place. Not a value published by Statistics Portugal.

Athletes by sport: men and women

Period
2024
Unit
Number (No.)
Data as of
3 November 2026

Notes

  • Statistics Portugal note (0001122): The data series from 2005 to 2019 has been revised (version on 05-02-2021 from Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth).

Source

Suggested citation

Statistics Portugal. Sport in Numbers: “Athletes by sport: men and women”. http://localhost:4321/en/desporto-em-numeros/d01#x-D01-modalidade-sexo. Data as of 3 November 2026; accessed 4 November 2026.

Provenance

Version
INE:0001122@2026-11-03T19:50:25.421Z
Observations checksum (SHA-256)
72dca9f92d0bcba2b063f58a88a0bb4192e386fb55d71635e2217478e09eaee8

Number of athletes over time

Periods
2015 to 2024
Unit
Number (No.)
Sport modalities
Total
Data as of
3 November 2026

Notes

  • Statistics Portugal note (0001122): The data series from 2005 to 2019 has been revised (version on 05-02-2021 from Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth).

Source

Suggested citation

Statistics Portugal. Sport in Numbers: “Number of athletes over time”. http://localhost:4321/en/desporto-em-numeros/d01#x-D01-evolucao. Data as of 3 November 2026; accessed 4 November 2026.

Provenance

Version
INE:0001122@2026-11-03T19:50:25.421Z
Observations checksum (SHA-256)
72dca9f92d0bcba2b063f58a88a0bb4192e386fb55d71635e2217478e09eaee8

Athletes by district and autonomous region

Period
2024
Unit
Number (No.)
Sex
Total
Data as of
3 November 2026

Notes

  • Statistics Portugal note (0001134): The data series from 2005 to 2019 has been revised (version on 05-02-2021 from Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth).

Source

Suggested citation

Statistics Portugal. Sport in Numbers: “Athletes by district and autonomous region”. http://localhost:4321/en/desporto-em-numeros/d01#x-D01-distritos. Data as of 3 November 2026; accessed 4 November 2026.

Provenance

Version
INE:0001134@2026-11-03T19:50:32.395Z
Observations checksum (SHA-256)
441a7f33fe3d2d69b6d5f3bda486fcd38630d04370a56307cf91ab85fc29280b