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Regional Lists of Most-Widely Played Sports
There are regional differences in the popularity of sports. Here are the top 10 sports based on the number of National Federations for that sport in each of the world's major regions: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. These lists give an indication of how widely each of the sports are played within the region. See also lists of top sports by country.
The tables below uses data from the Olympic Program Commission, Report to the 117th IOC Session from 24 May 2005, showing the number of National Federations for each Olympic sport for the year 2005. This list does not include all of the National Federations (unlike this list), only those that are associated with a National Olympic Committee (NOC). In addition to the current sports at the time (Baseball and Softball has since been dropped), the paper included the number of national federations for sports looking at being included in the Olympic program: Roller Sports, Golf, Rugby, Karate and Squash. See also a ranking of sports based on the total number of National Federations for each sport.
Looking closely at these lists you can see examples of sports are more popular in certain regions. For example, it is not surprising that table tennis (ping pong) is ranked equal third in Asia and only 12th in America. Another example is archery, which is in the top list in Oceana but is on no other top 10. Some regions have more National Olympic Committees (NOCs) (more countries too), which can also bias worldwide popularity lists. The region with the most NOCs is Africa (53) and the least in Oceania (15). In all regions, there are at least a couple of sports which have a National Sporting Federation associated with each of the NOCs in that region. In actual fact, every NOC has a Track and Field national federation associated with it. No other sport does.
Number of National Sporting Federations in Africa (max. 53)
| rank |
Sport |
No. National Federations |
| =1 |
Track and Field |
53 |
| =1 |
Basketball |
53 |
| =1 |
Volleyball |
53 |
| 4 |
Football (Soccer) |
52 |
| 5 |
Tennis |
51 |
| 6 |
Swimming |
50 |
| =7 |
Boxing |
47 |
| =7 |
Table Tennis |
47 |
| =7 |
Handball |
47 |
| 10 |
Judo |
45 |
Number of National Sporting Federations in America (max. 42)
| rank |
Sport |
No. National Federations |
| =1 |
Track and Field |
42 |
| =1 |
Basketball |
42 |
| =1 |
Volleyball |
42 |
| =1 |
Football (Soccer) |
42 |
| =1 |
Tennis |
42 |
| =1 |
Boxing |
42 |
| =1 |
Judo |
42 |
| =1 |
Taekwondo |
42 |
| 9 |
Swimming |
40 |
| =10 |
Karate |
37 |
| =10 |
Cycling |
37 |
Number of National Sporting Federations in Asia (max. 44)
| rank |
Sport |
No. National Federations |
| =1 |
Track and Field |
44 |
| =1 |
Volleyball |
44 |
| =3 |
Basketball |
43 |
| =3 |
Football (Soccer) |
43 |
| =3 |
Table Tennis |
43 |
| =3 |
Tennis |
43 |
| =3 |
Boxing |
43 |
| 8 |
Swimming |
42 |
| 9 |
Badminton |
41 |
| =10 |
Taekwondo |
40 |
| =10 |
Weightlifting |
40 |
Number of National Sporting Federations in Europe (max. 48)
| rank |
Sport |
No. National Federations |
| =1 |
Track and Field |
48 |
| =1 |
Basketball |
48 |
| =1 |
Football (Soccer) |
48 |
| =1 |
Tennis |
48 |
| =1 |
Shooting |
48 |
| =6 |
Volleyball |
47 |
| =6 |
Table Tennis |
47 |
| =6 |
Swimming |
47 |
| =6 |
Taekwondo |
47 |
| =6 |
Cycling |
47 |
| =6 |
Gymnastics |
47 |
Number of National Sporting Federations in Oceania (max. 15)
| rank |
Sport |
No. National Federations |
| =1 |
Track and Field |
15 |
| =1 |
Basketball |
15 |
| =1 |
Tennis |
15 |
| =1 |
Volleyball |
15 |
| =1 |
Weightlifting |
15 |
| =6 |
Table Tennis |
13 |
| =6 |
Archery |
13 |
| =8 |
Boxing |
12 |
| =8 |
Judo |
12 |
| =8 |
Softball |
12 |
Reference
- IOC - Olympic Program Commission, Report to the 117th IOC Session, 24 May 2005.
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