At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week is the recommended minimum for adults, according to the World Health Organisation. But which European nations lead the pack when it comes to fitness?
Curious to find the answer, the experts at Live Football Tickets created a comprehensive index study analysing four key variables to determine which country in Europe is the fittest.
Europe’s top 10 fittest countries
| Performing Non-Work Related Physical Activities at Least Once a Week (% of Population Aged 15+) | |||||||
| Rank | Country | Walking | Cycling | Aerobic Sports | Muscle-Strengthening Exercise | Life Expectancy | Fit Score (/10) |
| 1 | Spain | 88.6% | 7.9% | 50.0% | 20.7% | 84 | 8.9 |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 89.6% | 17.2% | 66.8% | 43.0% | 83 | 8.8 |
| 3= | Sweden | 90.0% | 33.8% | 75.3% | 56.7% | 83 | 8.6 |
| 3= | Finland | 95.7% | 38.8% | 42.2% | 59.5% | 82 | 8.6 |
| 5 | Netherlands | 75.4% | 61.3% | 53.5% | 29.8% | 82 | 8.5 |
| 6 | Austria | 89.1% | 30.4% | 62.2% | 42.7% | 82 | 8.2 |
| 7 | Ireland | 82.5% | 12.8% | 51.1% | 27.4% | 83 | 8.1 |
| 8 | France | 81.9% | 15.4% | 45.2% | 23.9% | 83 | 7.9 |
| 9 | Denmark | 83.1% | 47.5% | 75.8% | 53.0% | 82 | 7.8 |
| 10 | Czechia | 89.5% | 26.1% | 35.6% | 18.5% | 80 | 7.6 |
Please find the complete dataset of all 32 European countries analysed in this folder.
Finishing in first place, the title of the fittest European country is awarded to Spain, with a fit score of 8.9/10. Sunny Spain is actually the country with the highest life expectancy, at 84 years, out of all countries in the study. Most Spaniards’ preferred physical activity is walking, with nearly 87% doing so at least once a week, while they least enjoy strength exercises (20.7%).
Following very closely behind, securing a fit score of 8.8/10, in second place is Luxembourg. Nestled in the heart of Western Europe, Luxembourg is among the analysed countries that boast the second highest life expectancy (83 years old), right after Spain. And just like Spain, the preferred weekly physical exercise for people in Luxembourg is walking (89.6%).
Sharing the third spot, with a fit score of 8.6/10, are two Nordic countries – Sweden and Finland. Despite the cold temperatures, nearly a whopping 96% of Finns choose walking as a form of exercise, which is the highest percentage out of all examined countries. While Swedes also prefer walking (90%), they also like aerobics a lot, as 75.3% practice it – the third highest percentage straight after Norway and Denmark.
And rounding off the top five is the Netherlands, achieving a fit score of 8.5/10. The coastal country is among the European countries in the study with the third highest life expectancy – 82 years old. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Netherlands holds the highest percentage of people cycling on a weekly basis (61.3%) out of all countries analysed, which only attests to the country’s brilliant cycling culture.
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