GASTAT Issues Physical Activity Statistics in Saudi Arabia in 2024

Aleqtsad. Riyadh

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) today published statistics concerning the physical activity bulletin for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 2024.
According to the bulletin, 58.5% of individuals aged 18 and above engage in physical activity for 150 minutes or more per week throughout the Kingdom. Among children and adolescents aged 5 to 17, 18.7% engage in daily physical activity for 60 minutes or more.
Data shows that men are more physically active than women: 23.2% of men engage in physical activity, while the rate among women stands at 14%. Non-Saudis have a higher activity rate, of 62.5%, compared to Saudis, at 54.1%.
The age group 30 to 39 recorded the highest rate of physical activity, 150 minutes or more weekly, or 62.6%. Meanwhile, individuals aged 80 and above had the lowest rate, at 12.2%.
Among children and adolescents aged 5 to 17, 18.7% were physically active for 60 minutes or more daily, while 35.3% were sedentary for more than three hours daily. This entails sitting or engaging in non-physical activities, such as watching TV or using electronic devices, excluding school hours.
The bulletin also showed that non-Saudi children and adolescents were more physically active than their Saudi counterparts, 19.4% compared to 18.5%.
According to the data, walking or cycling for transportation to commute was the most common form of physical activity among adults, practiced by 56% of surveyed people. This was followed by leisure activities, at 39%, and work-related physical activity, at 31%.
Al-Baha Region had the highest percentage of children and adolescents engaged in physical activity of 60 minutes or more daily, at 30.4%, while Riyadh recorded the lowest percentage, at 14.7%.
The bulletin is a valuable source for understanding the level of physical activity among Saudi Arabia’s population. It is based on the 2024 National Health Survey and the Women and Child Health Survey, along with population estimates provided by GASTAT for the same year. The bulletin analyzes physical activity indicators based on self-reported data from adults (18 years and older) and children (aged 5 to 17), offering a comprehensive overview of lifestyle patterns and physical activity habits across the Kingdom during this year.