According to the survey, 40% of EU citizens play sport at least once a week and 65% engage in some form of physical activity, while 25% of the respondents declared themselves to be almost completely inactive.
However, Androulla Vassiliou, the EU commissioner in charge of sport, said the survey highlighted "huge varieties in participation across countries," with people in the Nordic countries and Ireland the most active.
Finland (72%), Sweden (72%) and Denmark (64%) all outstrip the EU average of 40% for people exercising once a week or more. Over half of the Irish (58%), Dutch (56%), Slovenians (52%) and Luxembourgers (51%) also said they exercise at least once a week.
At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria (3%), Greece (3%) and Italy (3%) have the fewest citizens who engage in regular physical activity.
The survey further indicates that citizens of Mediterranean countries and the 12 new member states also tend to exercise less than the average.
The new survey follows a similar study conducted in the EU-25 in 2004 and confirms a number of the results obtained back then: men play sports more than women, educated people tend to be more active and shortage of time is cited as the most common reason for not taking any exercise.
Nordic countries lead on volunteering
A new feature in the 2010 survey is volunteering.
While the Eurobarometer shows that on average 7% of EU citizens volunteer to help run sporting activities in their communities, at national level, the Nordic countries lead the way again, with 18% saying they volunteer in Sweden and Finland and 15% in Denmark.
Voluntary participation is also high in the Netherlands (16%), Austria (15%), Luxembourg, Ireland and Slovenia (all 14%), while volunteering to help local sports projects is relatively rare in Poland (2%), Greece (2%), Portugal (2%), Italy (3%) and Bulgaria (3%).
The similarities between the countries whose citizens do the most sport and whose citizens volunteer the most is striking.
By nominating 2011 as the 'European Year of Voluntary Activities', the EU hopes to increase the recognition and popularity of volunteering across Europe, and encourage the exchange of best practice between member states (EurActiv 27/11/09).
Contribution to EU sport policy
The survey will provide the European Commission with supporting data as it sketches the future EU sport policy.
With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in December 2009, the EU now has limited powers to support and encourage the development of sport in the EU-27 (EurActiv 30/11/09).
Among the policy aims listed in the 2007 White Paper on Sport are empowering citizens to do more sports and physical activity and encouraging volunteering.
