Running or jogging leads New Zealand with 17 weekly participation among adults (%) in 2023, ahead of Cycling and Swimming. Ranking of 13 sports.
This page ranks the sports of New Zealand by one number that is collected the same way for all of them: Share of adults aged 18 and over in New Zealand who took part in the activity at least once in the seven days before being surveyed. The figure comes from Sport New Zealand’s Active NZ survey, the government’s own national participation study, and the same survey, age base (18+) and time frame is used for every sport in this ranking, which makes the values directly comparable to one another. The figures come from Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023.
Running or jogging is on top, followed by Cycling and Swimming. The full table below covers 13 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.
The Most Popular Sports in New Zealand
The table counts weekly participation among adults (%), not people who say they like a sport. It is the figure that is published the same way for every sport in the list, which is what makes the rows comparable. The reference year is 2023.
| # | Sport | Weekly participation among adults (%) | Governing body |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Running or jogging | 17 | Athletics New Zealand |
| 2 | Cycling | 9 | Cycling New Zealand |
| 3 | Swimming | 7 | Swimming New Zealand |
| 4 | Golf | 4 | New Zealand Golf |
| 5 | Football (soccer) | 2 | New Zealand Football |
| 6 | Tennis | 2 | Tennis New Zealand |
| 7 | Basketball | 1 | Basketball New Zealand |
| 8 | Rugby union and touch rugby | 1 | New Zealand Rugby |
| 9 | Surfing and body boarding | 1 | Surfing New Zealand |
| 10 | Netball | 1 | Netball New Zealand |
| 11 | Lawn bowls | 1 | Bowls New Zealand |
| 12 | Boxing | 1 | Boxing New Zealand |
| 13 | Rugby league | <1 | New Zealand Rugby League |
One caveat applies to every ranking of this kind: someone who plays two sports is counted twice, once in each federation, and sports people mostly do on their own, such as running or hiking, barely show up at all.
Is There a National Sport of New Zealand?
New Zealand has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. New Zealand has no sport designated as the official national sport by law or by an act of government; no legislation or government agency page naming a legally designated national sport could be found on Sport New Zealand’s or the New Zealand government’s websites.
- Rugby union. World Rugby’s own website describes rugby as the national sport of New Zealand.
- Rugby union. New Zealand Rugby, the sport’s own national governing body, refers to rugby as the country’s national game.
Sports That Were Invented in New Zealand
- Ki-o-rahi. Ki-o-rahi is a traditional Maori ball game that was played throughout New Zealand before Europeans arrived, based on a Maori legend, and it has undergone a revival since the 1940s after being discouraged by missionaries.
- Zorbing. Zorbing, downhill ball rolling inside a giant inflatable sphere, was invented in Rotorua, New Zealand in 1994.
#1 Running or jogging
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 17 (Athletics New Zealand, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Peter Snell. Snell won Olympic gold in the 800m at Rome 1960, then completed a rare 800m and 1500m double at Tokyo 1964, making him New Zealand’s most decorated middle distance runner
Running and jogging is the most widely practiced sport among New Zealand adults, with 17 percent taking part in a typical week according to Sport New Zealand’s 2023 Active NZ survey. Participation has eased from 20 percent in 2017, but the activity still leads every other sport measured in the survey.
New Zealand has a strong middle and long distance running tradition, most famously embodied by Peter Snell, who won three Olympic gold medals in the 800m and 1500m during the 1960s. Running remains one of the easiest sports to take up, requiring no club membership or special facility.
#2 Cycling
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 9 (Cycling New Zealand, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Sarah Ulmer. Ulmer won Olympic gold in the individual pursuit at Athens 2004 while setting a world record time, New Zealand’s first Olympic track cycling gold medal
Cycling, excluding e-bikes, was practiced weekly by 9 percent of New Zealand adults in 2023, down from 11 percent in the years before 2022, per Sport New Zealand’s Active NZ survey.
The country’s best known cyclist is Sarah Ulmer, who won Olympic gold and set a world record in the individual pursuit at the Athens 2004 Games, a result still cited as one of New Zealand cycling’s defining moments.
Latest Posts about Cycling
#3 Swimming
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 7 (Swimming New Zealand, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Danyon Loader. Loader won gold in both the 200m and 400m freestyle at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, becoming the first New Zealander to win an individual Olympic swimming gold medal
Swimming was practiced weekly by 7 percent of adults in 2023, according to Sport New Zealand’s Active NZ survey, a share that has declined gradually from 9 percent in 2017 to 2019.
Danyon Loader is the sport’s most celebrated New Zealand competitor, winning both the 200m and 400m freestyle at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics after taking silver in the 200m butterfly four years earlier in Barcelona.
Latest Posts about Swimming
#4 Golf
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 4 (New Zealand Golf, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Lydia Ko. Ko has won three major championships, the 2014 Evian Championship, the 2016 ANA Inspiration and the 2024 AIG Women’s Open, and the AIG Women’s Open profile states she attained world number one status in record time
Golf was played weekly by 4 percent of New Zealand adults in 2023, a figure Sport New Zealand’s Active NZ survey records as significantly higher than the year before.
Lydia Ko is the country’s most successful golfer, with three major titles to her name, at the Evian Championship in 2014, the ANA Inspiration in 2016 and the AIG Women’s Open in 2024, and a record for reaching world number one in unusually short time.
Latest Posts about Golf
#5 Football (soccer)
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 2 (New Zealand Football, 2023)
- Top national league: Dettol Men’s National League
- Best known athlete: Wynton Rufer. Rufer is New Zealand’s most successful men’s footballer abroad, winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1992, the Bundesliga title in 1993 and the DFB-Pokal in 1995 with Werder Bremen, and was later recognized as Oceania’s Player of the Century
Football was played weekly by 2 percent of New Zealand adults in 2023 according to the Active NZ survey, a figure that has stayed constant since 2017.
Wynton Rufer remains the country’s most decorated men’s player, having won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1992, the Bundesliga in 1993 and the DFB-Pokal in 1995 with Werder Bremen, before being named Oceania’s Player of the Century.
#6 Tennis
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 2 (Tennis New Zealand, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Anthony Wilding. Wilding won four consecutive Wimbledon singles titles from 1910 to 1913, a run that stood as the record until Bjorn Borg matched it in 1979, and remains New Zealand’s only Grand Slam singles champion
Tennis was played weekly by 2 percent of adults in 2023, a share the Active NZ survey has recorded as unchanged since 2017.
Anthony Wilding is the sport’s historic figurehead in New Zealand, winning four consecutive Wimbledon singles titles between 1910 and 1913, a feat unmatched by any other New Zealander before or since.
Latest Posts about Tennis
#7 Basketball
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 1 (Basketball New Zealand, 2023)
- Top national league: New Zealand NBL
- Best known athlete: Steven Adams. Adams, from Rotorua, was picked 12th overall in the 2013 NBA draft and became a long-serving starting center for the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the most prominent New Zealanders in world basketball
Basketball was played weekly by 1 percent of adults in 2023, per the Active NZ survey, after briefly reaching 2 percent in 2022.
Steven Adams is the country’s best known player internationally, selected 12th overall in the 2013 NBA draft and serving as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s starting center for six seasons before moves to New Orleans, Memphis and Houston.
Latest Posts about Basketball
#8 Rugby union and touch rugby
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 1 (New Zealand Rugby, 2023)
- Top national league: Super Rugby Pacific
- Best known athlete: Richie McCaw. McCaw captained the All Blacks to Rugby World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015, the only player to captain a side to two World Cup wins, across 148 test appearances
Rugby union and touch rugby combined were played weekly by 1 percent of adults in 2023, according to the Active NZ survey, a share unchanged since 2017 in this combined category.
Richie McCaw is the sport’s most decorated figure, captaining the All Blacks to Rugby World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015, the only player ever to captain two World Cup winning sides, over 148 test matches.
#9 Surfing and body boarding
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 1 (Surfing New Zealand, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Paige Hareb. Hareb, from Oakura, was the first woman from New Zealand to qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour, competing on it from 2009 through 2019
Surfing and body boarding together were practiced weekly by 1 percent of adults in 2023, the Active NZ survey shows, after a temporary rise to 2 percent in 2019.
Paige Hareb of Oakura is the country’s most prominent surfer, becoming the first New Zealand woman to qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour and competing at that level from 2009 to 2019.
#10 Netball
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 1 (Netball New Zealand, 2023)
- Top national league: ANZ Premiership
- Best known athlete: Irene van Dyk. Van Dyk became the most capped Silver Fern in New Zealand netball history and was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the sport
Netball was played weekly by 1 percent of adults in 2023, holding steady at that level in every Active NZ survey since 2017.
Irene van Dyk is the sport’s most capped Silver Fern, and her services to netball were recognized with an appointment as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
#11 Lawn bowls
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 1 (Bowls New Zealand, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Peter Belliss. Belliss won the World Bowls singles title in 1984, the pairs title in 1988 and the triples title in 2000, and was later inducted into the inaugural World Bowls Hall of Fame
Lawn bowls was played weekly by 1 percent of adults in 2023, according to the Active NZ survey, down from 2 percent in 2017.
Peter Belliss is the sport’s most successful New Zealander, winning the World Bowls singles title in 1984, the pairs in 1988 and the triples in 2000, a record that earned him a place in the inaugural World Bowls Hall of Fame.
#12 Boxing
- Weekly participation among adults (%): 1 (Boxing New Zealand, 2023)
- Best known athlete: Joseph Parker. Parker held the WBO heavyweight world title from 2016 to 2018, becoming the first New Zealander to hold a version of the world heavyweight championship
Boxing was practiced weekly by 1 percent of adults in 2023, the Active NZ survey shows, down from 2 percent in 2017.
Joseph Parker is the sport’s most prominent New Zealander of the modern era, holding the WBO heavyweight world title from 2016 to 2018, the first New Zealander to hold a version of the heavyweight world championship.
Latest Posts about Boxing
#13 Rugby league
- Weekly participation among adults (%): <1 (New Zealand Rugby League, 2023)
- Top national league: NRL (New Zealand Warriors)
- Best known athlete: Benji Marshall. Marshall won the Golden Boot award as the world’s best rugby league player in 2010 while playing for the Wests Tigers and representing New Zealand
Rugby league was played weekly by fewer than 1 percent of adults in every Active NZ survey year from 2017 to 2023, the lowest measured share among the sports covered here.
Benji Marshall is the code’s most awarded New Zealander, winning the Golden Boot as the world’s best rugby league player in 2010, and he remains one of the sport’s most recognizable figures domestically through the NRL’s New Zealand Warriors.
Latest Posts about Rugby
Sources
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa (official government sports agency, checked for any legal designation)
- World Rugby
- New Zealand Rugby
- New Zealand Herald
- Zorb.com (official site of the inventors)
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
- Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, Active NZ Participation Trends 2017-2023, Table 14
Figures on this page come from national federations and statistics offices and are only as current as their latest published report. Last reviewed: August 2026.
FAQ
What are the most popular sports in New Zealand?
Based on Sport New Zealand’s 2023 Active NZ survey of weekly adult participation, running or jogging leads at 17 percent, followed by cycling at 9 percent and swimming at 7 percent. Golf, football, and tennis follow at lower but still measurable levels of weekly participation.
What is the national sport of New Zealand?
New Zealand has no sport legally designated as its official national sport. Rugby union functions as the de facto national sport, described as such by World Rugby and referred to as the national game by New Zealand Rugby, the sport’s own governing body.
What is the most popular sport in New Zealand?
By weekly adult participation in Sport New Zealand’s 2023 Active NZ survey, running or jogging is the most practiced sport, at 17 percent of adults. Rugby union, while not the top participation sport, functions as New Zealand’s de facto national sport.
What sport did New Zealand invent?
Zorbing, in which participants roll downhill inside a giant inflatable sphere, was invented in Rotorua, New Zealand in 1994 by Andrew Akers and Dwane van der Sluis. Ki-o-rahi, a traditional Maori ball game, was played throughout New Zealand before European arrival.
How many people watch rugby in New Zealand?
The Black Ferns’ 2022 Rugby World Cup final drew a New Zealand television audience of over 1.2 million, according to Nielsen figures. Roy Morgan Research separately estimated that 1.34 million New Zealanders, or 34.3 percent of the population, follow international rugby union.
There’s no mention of Rugby League. The “Rugby” referred to is actually Rugby Union, but Rugby League is arguably New Zealand’s second most popular sport. According to the NZME Sports Survey 2023, the top sports in New Zealand, in order of popularity, are Rugby Union, Rugby League, Cricket, Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Netball, and Motorsport.
Thank you for your valuable feedback! We appreciate you pointing out the distinction between Rugby Union and Rugby League, and the importance of both in New Zealand’s sports culture. We’ve updated the article to reflect the latest insights from the NZME Sports Survey 2023, with Rugby League now included as the country’s second most popular sport. Thanks again for helping us keep our content accurate and up-to-date!