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Inequalities Metric

We're committed to reducing inequalities in sport and physical activity. In 2024, we launched the Inequalities Metric - to identify who is least likely to be active.

What's the Inequalities Metric?

The Inequalities Metric recognises the intersectionality of individuals' characteristics and provides a comprehensive measure of inequalities.  

By understanding the multiple personal, social and economic characteristics that influence activity levels, we can take effective action to close the gap and ensure everyone benefits from sport and physical activity. 

Key insights from the Inequalities Metric 

  • 58% of adults have at least one 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 characteristics 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. 

For adults:

  • Disabled people and those with a long-term health condition 
  • Age 65 and over 
  • Lower socioeconomic groups (NS-SEC 6–8) 
  • Asian, Black, and Chinese adults 
  • Pregnant women and parents of children under one 
  • Adults of Muslim faith 

For children and young people: 

  • Girls 
  • Other gender (secondary-aged children) 
  • Low affluence 
  • Asian and Black children 
  • 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. 

While we acknowledge there are other inequalities not included in this model, and continue work to mitigate their impact, greater focus on people with two or more characteristics will have more impact on reducing overall inequalities. 

Previously, we focused on a narrower set of factors, overlooking other important differences, which limited how well our partners could support communities. Now we’re taking a broader, fairer approach that tackles inequalities from the ground up. 

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: 

  • 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.

Place Need Classification

Place Need Assessments

We encourage organisations to explore how they can integrate the Inequalities Metric into their work. 

For further information or to collaborate with us, please contact research@sportengland.org. 
 

Frequently asked questions

  • What data is the metric based on?

    The Inequalities Metric is based on minutes of activity data from two-year combined Active Lives datasets.

    It originally used data from adults (2019–2021) and children (2020–2022), and was refreshed in 2024 with 2021–2023 data. The next update is planned for summer 2026. Older versions may still be referenced, but we aim to keep content aligned with the latest data.

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  • What method has been used to create the metric?

    We use regression analysis to explore how combinations of demographic characteristics affect activity levels.

    This allows us to isolate the effects of each characteristic while controlling for others. Separate models are used for adults and children.

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  • Why are specific characteristics included/not included?

    The model identifies the most impactful combinations of characteristics.

    Some expected characteristics (e.g. women) may not appear individually but are highly represented among those with multiple characteristics of inequality.

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  • How is disability considered for children and young people?

    We piloted surveys in special schools, but practical barriers prevented full inclusion. 

    As a result, the metric only reflects children in mainstream education. We're working with Activity Alliance on alternative approaches.

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