Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — About 83 percent of the Saudi population aged 15 years and above do not engage in any sports or other physical exercise, the Makkah daily said on Saturday quoting a survey published by the General Authority of Statistics (GaStat).

According to the survey for 2018, only 17.4 percent of Saudis practiced some kind of physical activity for at least 150 minutes a week.

The authority said encouraging physical exercise and sports among the population is one of the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

According to the survey, 56.05 percent of active Saudis go for a walk, 25.69 percent play football, 5.80 percent are into body building, 2.72 percent run, 2.35 percent swim and 8.46 percent engage in other sports.

The survey said 44.73 percent of Saudis do not show any interest in practicing sport, 29.74 percent do not have time for it, 13.06 percent do not have the facilities, 10.83 percent are unable to exercise due to physical disabilities and 1.64 percent are inactive for other reasons.

The survey said only 10.1 percent of the Saudi men and 2.9 percent of the women practice sport for about 150 minutes every week while the ratio for non-Saudis is just 4.3 percent.