Sport England created the Inequalities Metric in 2024 to identify who is least likely to be active. The Inequalities Metric recognises the intersectionality of individuals characteristics and provides a comprehensive measure of inequalities.
Key Insights from the Inequalities Metric
- 58% of adults have at least on inequality characteristic
- 75% of adults with no inequality characteristic meet activity guidelines, compared to 44% for those with two or more
- 62% of children and young people hold one or more inequality characteristic
- 51% of children with no inequality characteristic meet activity guidelines, compared to 39% for those with two or more
The Inequalities Metric is built on data from:
- Active Lives Adult Survey (2021 – 23)
- Active Lives Children and Young People Survey (2021 – 23)
The data highlights that people with two or more inequality characteristics are least likely to be active.
If everyone with one or more characteristics of inequality could be as active as those with none, there'd be 4.9 million more active adults and 328,000 more active children and young people. We estimate this would generate more than £15 billion additional social value annually from the adult population alone.
Who's Most Affected? ​
The Inequalities Metric identifies key characteristics that have the most impact on minutes of activity.Â
For adults:
- Disabled people and those with a long-term health conditionÂ
- Age 65 and overÂ
- Lower socioeconomic groups (NS-SEC 6–8)Â
- Asian, Black, and Chinese adultsÂ
- Pregnant women and parents of children under oneÂ
- Adults of Muslim faithÂ
For children and young people:Â
- GirlsÂ
- Other gender (secondary-aged children)Â
- Low affluenceÂ
- Asian and Black childrenÂ
- Lack of access to a park, field, or outdoor sports space (secondary-aged children)
The key driver is not any one characteristic on its own, but rather how many different characteristics a person has. The more you have, the less active you’re likely to be.
Inequalities Metric in action​
The Inequalities Metric is helping organisations make better decisions to reduce inequalities in sport and physical activity. It’s being used to:Â
- guide investment – ensuring funding reaches those most in need
- shape campaigns and programmes – engaging underrepresented groups more effectively
- support local authorities and partners – identifying priority audiences and tailoring interventions.
We have produced a set of Place Needs Assessment resources to help organisations explore how the Inequalities Metric and Place Needs Classification can be used to identify inequalities in sport and physical activity.