The Most Popular Sports in Germany (Top 20 Ranked)

Soccer leads Germany with 8,005,050 registered members (Bestandserhebung) in 2025, ahead of Gymnastics and Tennis. Ranking of 20 sports.

This page ranks the sports of Germany by one number that is collected the same way for all of them: The DOSB’s annual Bestandserhebung counts registered memberships in each Spitzenverband (national sports federation) belonging to German organized sport, giving one comparable membership figure per sport across every entry in this ranking. The figures come from DOSB Bestandserhebung 2025 (Stichtag 01.01.2025).

Soccer is on top, followed by Gymnastics and Tennis. The full table below covers 20 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.

The Most Popular Sports in Germany

The table counts registered members (Bestandserhebung), 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 listed sports account for 29,310,669 in total. The reference year is 2025.

#	Sport	Registered members (Bestandserhebung)	Governing body
1	Soccer	8,005,050	German Football Association
2	Gymnastics	5,278,683	German Gymnastics Federation
3	Tennis	1,518,566	German Tennis Federation
4	Mountain Sports	1,517,087	German Alpine Club
5	Shooting Sports	1,349,758	German Shooting Federation
6	Athletics (Track and Field)	804,129	German Athletics Association
7	Handball	793,149	German Handball Federation
8	Golf	686,708	German Golf Association
9	Equestrian Sports	657,994	German Equestrian Federation
10	Lifesaving	626,161	German Life Saving Association
11	Swimming	602,724	German Swimming Federation
12	Table Tennis	542,063	German Table Tennis Association
13	Skiing	518,380	German Ski Association
14	Volleyball	464,148	German Volleyball Association
15	Basketball	288,444	German Basketball Federation
16	Dancesport	226,079	German Dancesport Federation
17	Sailing	194,790	German Sailing Association
18	Badminton	182,686	German Badminton Association
19	Karate	155,335	German Karate Federation
20	Cycling	153,537	German Cycling Federation

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.

Most Played and Most Watched Are Not the Same Sport

Membership and license numbers tell you what people do. Audience figures tell you what they watch, and the two lists rarely have the same sport on top.

Sport	Figure	What it measures
Soccer	38,082	The Bundesliga sold a record average of 38,082 tickets per match in the 2024-25 season.

Is There a National Sport of Germany?

Germany has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No federal German law or the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) designates an official national sport.

• Soccer. Football is Germany’s de facto national sport, since the Deutscher Fußball-Bund is by far the country’s largest sports federation.

Sports That Were Invented in Germany

• Gymnastics (Turnen). Modern organized gymnastics began in Germany when Friedrich Ludwig Jahn opened the country’s first public Turnplatz in Berlin’s Hasenheide park in 1811.
• Handball. Team handball was created in Germany, when Berlin sports teacher Max Heiser set the first rules for the game on 29 October 1917.

#1 Soccer

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 8,005,050 (German Football Association, 2025)
• Top national league: Bundesliga
• Best known athlete: Toni Kroos. Kroos won six UEFA Champions League titles, one with Bayern Munich and five with Real Madrid, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany, retiring from all football after the 2024 European Championship

The Deutscher Fußball-Bund counted 8,005,050 memberships in 2025, according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, making it by far the largest sports federation in Germany. Soccer clubs exist in nearly every German town, and the men’s Bundesliga is the country’s best attended domestic league.

Germany’s national team has won the FIFA World Cup four times and the UEFA European Championship three times. The sport’s reach spans youth academies, amateur weekend leagues, and a professional pyramid that funnels players into the Bundesliga and the national team.

#2 Gymnastics

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 5,278,683 (German Gymnastics Federation, 2025)
• Top national league: Turn-Bundesliga
• Best known athlete: Fabian Hambüchen. Hambüchen won Olympic horizontal bar gold in Rio in 2016 after silver in 2012 and bronze in 2008, completing a full set of Olympic medals on the same apparatus, and retired immediately after the win

The Deutscher Turner-Bund reported 5,278,683 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, the second largest total of any German sports federation. The organization traces its roots to Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, who opened the country’s first public Turnplatz in Berlin in 1811.

Gymnastics in Germany today spans competitive artistic and rhythmic disciplines as well as the broader Turnen tradition of general fitness and movement classes offered in local clubs. Fabian Hambüchen’s Olympic career on the horizontal bar remains one of the sport’s most recognized recent chapters.

#3 Tennis

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 1,518,566 (German Tennis Federation, 2025)
• Top national league: Tennis-Bundesliga
• Best known athlete: Alexander Zverev. Zverev won Olympic gold in the men’s singles at the Tokyo 2020 Games and the 2021 ATP Finals, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 2

The Deutscher Tennis Bund had 1,518,566 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, placing tennis third among German sports federations. Clubs across the country field teams in the Tennis-Bundesliga, the domestic top division for club tennis.

German tennis produced two Wimbledon-winning generations, from Steffi Graf and Boris Becker to Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev. Zverev’s Olympic singles title in Tokyo added another gold medal to the sport’s history in Germany.

#4 Mountain Sports

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 1,517,087 (German Alpine Club, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Alexander Huber. Huber, one half of the ‘Huberbuam’ climbing duo, made the first free ascent of the Salathé route on El Capitan in 1995 and set a speed record on the Zodiac route, later becoming known for demanding free solo climbs in the Alps

The Deutscher Alpenverein counted 1,517,087 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, making it Germany’s fourth largest sports federation. The club runs mountain huts and trails across the Alps and organizes climbing, hiking, and mountaineering activities.

Alpine and rock climbing in Germany has produced internationally recognized climbers such as Alexander Huber, known for hard free ascents on El Capitan in Yosemite. Indoor climbing gyms affiliated with the Alpenverein have also expanded participation beyond the mountains themselves.

#5 Shooting Sports

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 1,349,758 (German Shooting Federation, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Christian Reitz. Reitz won Olympic gold in the 25m rapid fire pistol at the Rio 2016 Games, having earlier taken bronze in the same event at Beijing 2008

The Deutscher Schützenbund reported 1,349,758 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, the fifth largest total among German sports federations. Shooting sports in Germany include rifle, pistol, and traditional Schützenfest disciplines organized through local Schützenvereine.

Christian Reitz’s Olympic gold in the rapid fire pistol event at Rio 2016 is among the sport’s most prominent recent results for Germany. Shooting clubs remain a fixture of small town community life in many parts of the country.

#6 Athletics (Track and Field)

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 804,129 (German Athletics Association, 2025)
• Top national league: Leichtathletik-Bundesliga
• Best known athlete: Malaika Mihambo. Mihambo won Olympic long jump gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games and world titles in 2019 and 2022, becoming one of only a few track and field athletes to hold three consecutive individual global titles

The Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband had 804,129 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking sixth among German sports federations. Athletics clubs compete in the Leichtathletik-Bundesliga, Germany’s top team competition covering track, field, and combined events.

Malaika Mihambo’s Olympic and world championship long jump titles have kept the sport in the national spotlight in recent years. Youth athletics programs run through local clubs feed into regional and national championships across all age groups.

#7 Handball

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 793,149 (German Handball Federation, 2025)
• Top national league: Handball-Bundesliga
• Best known athlete: Uwe Gensheimer. Gensheimer captained the German national team from 2014 and was the leading scorer of the 2019 World Championship, which Germany co-hosted and reached the semifinals

The Deutscher Handball-Bund counted 793,149 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, making handball the seventh largest sport in Germany by federation membership. The sport was invented in Germany, and the Handball-Bundesliga remains one of the strongest domestic leagues in the world.

Uwe Gensheimer’s scoring and long tenure as national team captain marked much of the past decade of German handball. Club handball draws sizable crowds in traditional strongholds such as Rhineland-Palatinate and the Rhine-Neckar region.

#8 Golf

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 686,708 (German Golf Association, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Martin Kaymer. Kaymer won the 2010 PGA Championship and the 2014 U.S. Open, reaching world No. 1 in 2011 as only the second German golfer, after Bernhard Langer, to do so

The Deutscher Golf Verband reported 686,708 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking golf eighth among German sports federations. The sport is organized through private and club courses rather than a domestic professional league.

Bernhard Langer and Martin Kaymer built Germany’s international golf reputation by winning major championships and reaching the top of the world ranking. Kaymer’s two major titles, at the 2010 PGA Championship and the 2014 U.S. Open, remain benchmarks for German golf.

#9 Equestrian Sports

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 657,994 (German Equestrian Federation, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Michael Jung. Jung won individual Olympic eventing gold in 2012, 2016, and 2024, becoming the first rider to win the event three times, and completed the Grand Slam of Eventing in 2016

The Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung had 657,994 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, the ninth largest total among German sports federations. Equestrian sport in Germany covers dressage, show jumping, and eventing, organized through regional and national federations.

Michael Jung’s three individual Olympic eventing titles make him the most decorated rider in the discipline’s Olympic history. German riders and horses have also been consistent contenders in Olympic dressage and show jumping team competitions for decades.

#10 Lifesaving

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 626,161 (German Life Saving Association, 2025)

The DLRG (Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft) counted 626,161 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking tenth among German sports federations. Most members train in water rescue and lifeguard duty, and the organization also fields competitive rescue swimming teams.

Rettungsschwimmen, or lifesaving sport, combines swimming speed with rescue technique and is contested at national and international championships. Local DLRG chapters supply many of the volunteer lifeguards who staff public pools and lakes across Germany in summer.

#11 Swimming

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 602,724 (German Swimming Federation, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Florian Wellbrock. Wellbrock won Olympic gold in the men’s 10km open water marathon swim at the Tokyo 2020 Games and world titles in open water and pool swimming in 2019 and 2023

The Deutscher Schwimm-Verband reported 602,724 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking eleventh among German sports federations. The federation covers pool swimming, open water swimming, diving, and water polo.

Florian Wellbrock’s Olympic and world titles in open water swimming, alongside pool medals, have been among the sport’s strongest recent results for Germany. Swimming remains one of the most widely taught sports in German schools and clubs alike.

#12 Table Tennis

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 542,063 (German Table Tennis Association, 2025)
• Top national league: TTBL (Tischtennis-Bundesliga)
• Best known athlete: Timo Boll. Boll reached world No. 1 in table tennis in 2003, 2011, and 2018 and won eight European singles titles before retiring in 2025 after the Bundesliga team final

The Deutscher Tischtennis-Bund had 542,063 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, the twelfth largest total among German sports federations. Club table tennis in Germany is organized in a deep league pyramid topped by the TTBL.

Timo Boll’s career, including three stints at world No. 1 and eight European singles titles, made him the sport’s most recognized German player for two decades. His retirement in 2025 closed out a career that began in the 1990s.

#13 Skiing

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 518,380 (German Ski Association, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Laura Dahlmeier. Dahlmeier won two Olympic biathlon gold medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, in the sprint and pursuit, becoming the first woman to win both at the same Winter Games

The Deutscher Skiverband reported 518,380 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking thirteenth among German sports federations. The federation oversees alpine and cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and biathlon.

Laura Dahlmeier’s two gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics marked one of German winter sport’s standout performances of the last decade. German ski jumpers and cross-country skiers also compete regularly on the World Cup circuit.

#14 Volleyball

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 464,148 (German Volleyball Association, 2025)
• Top national league: Volleyball-Bundesliga
• Best known athlete: Georg Grozer. Grozer led Germany to a bronze medal at the 2014 World Championship, the country’s first medal at the event since East Germany’s gold in 1970, and to silver at the 2017 European Championship

The Deutscher Volleyball-Verband counted 464,148 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking just ahead of basketball among German sports federations. Club volleyball in Germany is topped by the Volleyball-Bundesliga for men and women.

Georg Grozer’s long international career included Germany’s first World Championship medal in more than four decades. Beach volleyball, governed by the same federation, has also grown in visibility through domestic and international tour events.

#15 Basketball

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 288,444 (German Basketball Federation, 2025)
• Top national league: Basketball Bundesliga
• Best known athlete: Dennis Schröder. Schröder was named tournament MVP as Germany won the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, its first world title, and later captained Germany to the 2025 EuroBasket title

The Deutscher Basketball Bund had 288,444 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking fifteenth among German sports federations. The Basketball Bundesliga is the country’s top professional league.

Dennis Schröder’s MVP performance at the 2023 FIBA World Cup helped Germany win its first world title in the sport. That success, followed by a EuroBasket title in 2025, coincided with rising domestic interest in basketball.

#16 Dancesport

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 226,079 (German Dancesport Federation, 2025)

The Deutscher Tanzsportverband reported 226,079 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking sixteenth among German sports federations. Competitive dancesport in Germany covers standard and Latin disciplines organized through local dance clubs.

The federation has moved between the Olympic and non-Olympic groupings within the DOSB structure in recent years, reflecting dancesport’s position between competitive sport and performance art. Club based dance competitions run at regional and national levels throughout the year.

#17 Sailing

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 194,790 (German Sailing Association, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Jochen Schümann. Schümann won three Olympic sailing gold medals, in the Finn class in 1976 and the Soling class in 1988 and 1996, plus a silver in 2000

The Deutscher Segler-Verband counted 194,790 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking seventeenth among German sports federations. Sailing clubs are concentrated along the North Sea and Baltic coasts and on the country’s larger lakes.

Jochen Schümann’s three Olympic gold medals across three decades made him one of German sailing’s most decorated competitors. He later worked as a sporting director for America’s Cup teams after his sailing career.

#18 Badminton

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 182,686 (German Badminton Association, 2025)
• Top national league: 1. Badminton-Bundesliga

The Deutscher Badminton-Verband had 182,686 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking eighteenth among German sports federations. Club badminton in Germany is organized through the 1. Badminton-Bundesliga.

Badminton clubs in Germany run junior programs alongside adult league play, with regional associations feeding players into national championships. The sport remains smaller in membership than most Olympic ball sports in the country.

#19 Karate

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 155,335 (German Karate Federation, 2025)

The Deutscher Karate Bund reported 155,335 memberships in 2025 according to the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking nineteenth among German sports federations. Karate was part of the Olympic program at the Tokyo 2020 Games before being dropped again for Paris 2024.

German karateka compete in kumite and kata disciplines at national and European championships organized through regional associations. Club karate in Germany draws practitioners across a wide age range, from children’s classes to adult competitive squads.

#20 Cycling

• Registered members (Bestandserhebung): 153,537 (German Cycling Federation, 2025)
• Best known athlete: Jan Ullrich. Ullrich remains the only German rider to win the Tour de France, in 1997, and won Olympic road race gold at the 2000 Sydney Games

The Bund Deutscher Radfahrer counted 153,537 memberships in 2025 in the DOSB Bestandserhebung, ranking twentieth among the German sports federations kept in this list. The federation covers road, track, mountain bike, and BMX cycling.

Jan Ullrich’s 1997 Tour de France victory remains the only overall win by a German rider in the race’s history. Track cycling in Germany also draws strong domestic interest around the six day races held in several cities each winter.

Sources

• DOSB Bestandserhebung 2025 (Stichtag 01.01.2025)
• Bundesliga (DFL)
• Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Volltext)
• Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB)
• Deutscher Handballbund (DHB)
• DOSB Bestandserhebung 2025
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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.

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