The table illustrates the change in the percentages of people participating in seven different sports in a European country over a ten-year period from 1999 to 2009.
Overall, Football was the most popular sport throughout the entire period, despite its declining popularity. In contrast, Tennis and Golf saw a consistent increase in the percentage of participants, while the figures for Swimming remained relatively stable.
In 1999, Football had the highest participation rate at 57%. This figure, however, saw a steady decline, dropping to 52% in 2004 and a further 48% in 2009. Similarly, Basketball and Volleyball also experienced a slight downward trend. Basketball participation fell from 26% to 24%, while Volleyball saw a minor decrease from 17% to 18% in the final year after an initial rise to 20% in 2004.
Conversely, the percentage of people playing Tennis and Golf grew consistently. Tennis participation started at 25% and rose steadily to 30% in 2004 and 33% by 2009. Golf experienced an even more dramatic surge, more than doubling from 8% in 1999 to 17% in 2009. The figure for Yoga also increased, albeit only in the final period, rising from a modest 10% in both 1999 and 2004 to 13% in 2009. The participation rate for Swimming showed little change, beginning at 32% and peaking at 34% before stabilising at the same figure in 2009.
