Most Attended Sports in Australia
Australians love their sport, whether it is playing or watching, and there are a wide range of sports that they follow. The Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released information in December 2010 about the attendance figures to sporting events which provide an interesting snapshot of what Australians like to watch.
Australian Rules football clearly wins in the battle of the football codes, with horse racing and harness racing surprises on the list. The highest ranked predominantly 'female' sport is netball at 12th, which seems low for this sport which would be highly ranked in terms of participation.
See more discussion on Australia's most popular sport.
Spectators at Australian Sporting Events (2009-2010)
The data provided is for males and females aged 15 years and over from a whole year prior to an interview in 2010, who attended a sporting events at least once as spectators (excluding junior and school sport).
| Rank | Sport | Total Attendance | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Rules Football (AFL) | 2,831,800 | 16.2 |
| 2 | Horse racing | 1,940,300 | 11.1 |
| 3 | Rugby League | 1,563,800 | 8.9 |
| 4 | Motor sports | 1,423,000 | 8.1 |
| 5 | Soccer (outdoor) | 938,800 | 5.4 |
| 6 | Cricket (outdoor) | 678,700 | 3.9 |
| 7 | Rugby Union | 575,500 | 3.3 |
| 8 | Harness racing | 412,100 | 2.4 |
| 9 | Tennis (indoor and outdoor) | 293,700 | 1.7 |
| 10 | Dog racing | 281,400 | 1.6 |
| 11 | Basketball (indoor and outdoor) | 220,800 | 1.3 |
| 12 | Netball (indoor and outdoor) | 176,700 | 1.0 |
| 13 | Hockey (indoor and outdoor) | 87,100 | 0.5 |
| 14 | Soccer (indoor) | 72,400 | 0.4 |
| 15 | Lawn bowls | 42.400 | 0.2 |
| 16 | Horse riding / equestrian activities / polo | 41,700 | 0.2 |
| 17 | Cycling/BMXing | 41,100 | 0.2 |
| 18 | Touch football | 40,300 | 0.2 |
| 19 | Boxing | 38,500 | 0.2 |
| 20 | Cricket (indoor) | 36,000 | 0.2 |
Source
- Spectator Attendance at Sporting Events, Australia (cat. no. 4174.0), Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
Related Pages
- More discussion on Australia's most popular sport.
- About sport in Australia
- Other top-10 lists of the world's most popular sports
- Australian Sports Culture — Australians are fanatical about sport
- Other world sport lists
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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