The table displays how the number of Australians doing various physical activities changed from 2001 to 2009. Overall, there were more people who ran, did aerobics and played tennis over time, while there were fewer who cycled and swam. In addition, cyclists accounted for the highest number in both 2001 and 2009.
In 2001, 4.5 million Australians were cyclists, making this the most significant figure, followed by 3.7 million swimmers. Fewer people ran, did aerobics, and played tennis, with 1.4, 1.5 and 1 million, respectively. By 2005, all groups had slightly expanded in number, except for cyclists, whose count had plummeted to 3.1 million.
Four years later, the number of Australians who cycled returned to being the highest, having recovered to the 3.6 million mark. During the same period, while there were 500,000 fewer swimmers, a rise to over 2 million was recorded in the number of runners. The figures for people who did aerobics and played tennis only increased slightly, amounting to a half and one-third of cyclists’, respectively. Compared to 2001, runners grew the most by proportion, with 56%, while the proportion of bicycle riders experienced the greatest decline of 20%.