With the Paris 2024 Olympics in full swing, new data from Eurostat has revealed that Sweden boasts the highest percentage of people employed in the sports industry in the European Union, with 1.33% of individuals working in the sector.
Other countries to boast a high percentage of people working in sports included Denmark (1.25%), Spain (1.16%), Finland (1.14%), France (1.01%) and Ireland (0.99%).
At the other end of the spectrum, the countries that boasted the lowest percentage of people working in sport included Romania, where 0.28% of the population work in the sports industry, Bulgaria (0.37%), Slovakia (0.40%), Poland (0.44%) and Lithuania (0.46%).
Increase on the previous year
According to Eurostat, in 2023, some 1.55 million people were employed in the sports industry in the European Union, representing 0.76% of total EU employment. This is a 2.2% increase on the previous year (1.51 million), the data showed.
The data also analysed the age profile of those employed in the sports industry, and found that close to two fifths (37.4%) were aged 15 to 29, while 59.1% were in the 30 to 64 age bracket. People aged 65 and over accounted for 3.5% of those employed in the sports sector.
Men accounted for 55.2% of those employed in the sports sector, with women accounting for 44.8%.
Percentage of individuals employed in the sports industry by EU country, 2023 (%)
| Country | Percentage Employed in Sports Industry (%) |
|---|---|
| Sweden | 1.33 |
| Denmark | 1.25 |
| Spain | 1.16 |
| Finland | 1.14 |
| France | 1.01 |
| Ireland | 0.99 |
| Netherlands | 0.99 |
| Estonia | 0.97 |
| Portugal | 0.90 |
| Luxembourg | 0.79 |
| Austria | 0.73 |
| Slovenia | 0.71 |
| Italy | 0.69 |
| Cyprus | 0.68 |
| Belgium | 0.65 |
| Greece | 0.62 |
| Czechia | 0.58 |
| Germany | 0.56 |
| Latvia | 0.55 |
| Hungary | 0.55 |
| Malta | 0.55 |
| Croatia | 0.52 |
| Lithuania | 0.46 |
| Poland | 0.44 |
| Slovakia | 0.40 |
| Bulgaria | 0.37 |
| Romania | 0.28 |
