The table illustrates the percentages of Australian males and females aged over 15 who participated in selected sports and physical recreation activities in 2011.
Overall, women were slightly more active than men in total participation. Walking for exercise was by far the most popular activity among females, whereas men showed more interest in activities such as cycling, jogging and golf.
In detail, walking for exercise attracted nearly one-third of females (30.4%), almost double the figure for males at 16.5%. Fitness or gym activities were also more popular among women, with 19.1% participating, compared to 15.1% of men. Swimming and diving showed similar participation rates for both genders, at 8.0% for females and 7.5% for males.
By contrast, men were more likely to take part in cycling or BMXing (9.8% compared with 5.4% for women) and jogging or running (8.7% versus 6.4%). Golf was another male-dominated activity, with 8.2% participation, while no figure was recorded for females. Football and basketball were played almost exclusively by men, whereas yoga and netball were participated in only by women.
In total, 79.4% of females and 77.6% of males engaged in at least one activity.