Two-thirds (66.5%) of the population aged 16 or over in the European Union (EU) went to at least one cultural or sports event in 2015. That means that 1 in 3 persons did not go to the cinema, visit a cultural site or museum and did not attend a live performance or sports event.
Overall in the EU, a larger percentage of the population aged 16 or over went to cultural events than sports events. While over 40% went at least once in that year to the cinema (45.3%), visited a cultural site (42.6%) or attended a live performance (42.0%), less than a third went to a sports event (29.7%).
Education level plays a role
Cultural and sports attendance seems to be closely linked to the level of education as the proportion of those who go to a cultural or sports event increases along with their educational level. While less than half (45.4%) of those aged 16 or over with a low education level (at most lower secondary education) participated at least once in any cultural or sports event in 2015, this share increased to 70.2% for those with a medium education level and reached 87.5% when it came to those in the population with a high education level (tertiary education). Tis general correlation between a person’s educational level and their attendance at cultural or sports events can be seen for both types of events. However, it is slightly more pronounced for attendance at cultural events.
The source dataset can be found here.
Highest participation rate in Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark
Across the EU Member States in 2015, over 80% of the population aged 16 or over in Sweden (88.8%), the Netherlands (86.5%), Denmark (86.1%) and Finland (84.6%), ahead of Luxembourg (82.7%) and France (80.5%), attended at least once a cultural or sports event. Around three-quarters of the population reported this in Austria (77.9%), the United Kingdom (77.3%), Germany and Ireland (both 77.2%) as well as the Czech Republic (75.6%).
At the opposite end of the scale, less than a third of the population attended a cultural or sports event in Romania (29.6%) and Bulgaria (32.0%), followed at a distance by Croatia (43.7%) and Italy (49.6%).