The Most Popular Sports in Norway (All 52 Ranked)

Soccer leads Norway with 410,988 registered members in 2024, ahead of handball and golf. Full ranking of all 52 sports federations.

Norway is a country of 5.6 million people that keeps a sports club system almost every one of them can walk to. This page ranks the sports by the one number that is collected the same way for all of them: the members each national federation reports to Norges idrettsforbund, the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports, at the end of every year.

The result does not match the picture most people have of Norway. Skiing is the sport the country is famous for and the one it has won the most Olympic medals in, but by membership it is only fourth, behind soccer, handball and golf.

The Most Popular Sports in Norway by Registered Members

The table below counts people registered with a national federation, not people who say they like a sport. It is the only figure Norway publishes the same way for every sport, which makes it the only one that lets you compare them. All 52 sports federations under Norges idrettsforbund are listed, with a combined 1,654,965 memberships as of 31 December 2024. Three member organizations that are not single sports (company sports, student sports and the multi sport federation) are left out, because their members are counted inside other sports as well.

#	Sport	Registered members	Governing body
1	Soccer	410,988	Norwegian Football Federation
2	Handball	146,546	Norwegian Handball Federation
3	Golf	146,482	Norwegian Golf Federation
4	Skiing	109,976	Norwegian Ski Federation
5	Gymnastics	105,083	Norwegian Gymnastics Federation
6	Track and Field	77,616	Norwegian Athletics Federation
7	Swimming	77,354	Norwegian Swimming Federation
8	Tennis and Padel	42,357	Norwegian Tennis and Padel Federation
9	Sport Shooting	38,557	Norwegian Sport Shooting Federation
10	Equestrian Sports	36,420	Norwegian Equestrian Federation
11	Martial Arts	35,428	Norwegian Martial Arts Federation
12	Climbing	34,964	Norwegian Climbing Federation
13	Cycling	34,391	Norwegian Cycling Federation
14	Bandy, Floorball and Field Hockey	27,581	Norwegian Bandy Federation
15	Volleyball	27,205	Norwegian Volleyball Federation
16	Paddling	26,325	Norwegian Paddling Federation
17	Motorsport	25,024	Norwegian Motorsport Federation
18	Orienteering	22,300	Norwegian Orienteering Federation
19	Basketball	20,320	Norwegian Basketball Federation
20	Sailing	19,904	Norwegian Sailing Federation
21	Air Sports	19,380	Norwegian Air Sports Federation
22	Ice Hockey	19,280	Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation
23	American Sports	18,866	Norwegian Federation of American Sports
24	Dance	16,514	Norwegian Dance Federation
25	Speed Skating and Figure Skating	9,157	Norwegian Skating Federation
26	Scuba Diving	8,995	Norwegian Diving Federation
27	Wrestling	8,929	Norwegian Wrestling Federation
28	Boxing	8,478	Norwegian Boxing Federation
29	Board Sports	7,297	Norwegian Board Sports Federation
30	Badminton	6,918	Norwegian Badminton Federation
31	Powerlifting	5,466	Norwegian Powerlifting Federation
32	Biathlon	5,311	Norwegian Biathlon Federation
33	Table Tennis	5,232	Norwegian Table Tennis Federation
34	Triathlon	5,078	Norwegian Triathlon Federation
35	Archery	4,858	Norwegian Archery Federation
36	Sled Dog Racing	4,840	Norwegian Sled Dog Racing Federation
37	Judo	4,494	Norwegian Judo Federation
38	Rowing	4,472	Norwegian Rowing Federation
39	Kickboxing	4,267	Norwegian Kickboxing Federation
40	Weightlifting	3,478	Norwegian Weightlifting Federation
41	Cricket	3,141	Norwegian Cricket Federation
42	Functional Fitness	2,356	Norwegian Functional Fitness Federation
43	Billiards	2,044	Norwegian Billiards Federation
44	Bowling	1,900	Norwegian Bowling Federation
45	Water Skiing and Wakeboarding	1,770	Norwegian Water Ski and Wakeboard Federation
46	Curling	1,502	Norwegian Curling Federation
47	Squash	1,456	Norwegian Squash Federation
48	Rugby	1,429	Norwegian Rugby Federation
49	Fencing	1,382	Norwegian Fencing Federation
50	Casting	822	Norwegian Casting Federation
51	Softball and Baseball	757	Norwegian Softball and Baseball Federation
52	Luge, Bobsleigh and Skeleton	275	Norwegian Luge, Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation

One caveat that applies to every ranking of this kind: a person who plays two sports is counted twice, once in each federation, and a sport people mostly do on their own, such as hiking, running or backcountry skiing, barely shows up at all.

Most Played and Most Watched Are Not the Same Sport

Membership tells you what Norwegians do. Television ratings tell you what they watch, and the two lists have a different sport on top. These are the biggest single sports broadcasts in the Kantar Media panel that measures Norwegian television.

Sport	Peak audience	Broadcast and year
Cross country skiing	856,000 viewers	NRK1, women’s 20 km skiathlon, 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, 2025
Soccer	827,000 viewers	TV 2, 2026 World Cup qualifier Estonia against Norway, 2025
Handball	710,000 viewers	Women’s European Championship, 2024

In a country of 5.6 million, an audience of 856,000 for a single cross country race is roughly one in seven people. No club sport in Norway comes close to that on a normal weekend, which is why skiing feels like the national sport even though soccer has almost four times as many members.

Is There a National Sport of Norway?

Norway has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. Anything called the national sport of Norway is a de facto title, not an official one. That said, the answer people usually mean is not really in doubt.

• By tradition and culture: skiing. Store norske leksikon, the Norwegian national encyclopedia, describes touring and cross country skiing as a national trademark, with prepared trail networks in local communities across the country through the whole season, many of them floodlit.
• By Olympic success: cross country skiing. It is the sport in which Norway has won the most Olympic medals, and historically Norway is the most successful nation in it.
• By people taking part: soccer. The Norwegian federation reported over 410,000 active members in 2024, which its own key figures report puts at 24.3 percent of all active members in Norwegian organized sport.

So the honest answer to “what is the national sport of Norway” is skiing by culture and by medals, soccer by participation, and nothing at all by law.

Sports That Were Invented in Norway

Norway did not just take up sports from elsewhere. Several parts of skiing as the world knows it today started here, and one of them gave English a word it still uses.

• Skiing. Skis have been used in Norway for more than a thousand years, as recorded in the Norse kings’ sagas.
• Ski jumping. Ski jumping is held to have originated in Morgedal in Telemark, and the first official Norwegian competition is said to have been held in Trysil in 1862.
• Slalom. The word slalom is Norwegian and comes from races on the hillside in Morgedal, where skiers ran through rough terrain and left tracks in the snow.
• Telemark skiing. Telemark skiing is named after the Norwegian region of Telemark and has had its own national championship run by the Norwegian Ski Federation since 1992.
• Long distance ski racing. The Birkebeinerrennet ski race commemorates the rescue of the infant king Haakon Haakonsson in 1206 and every skier carries a pack representing the child.

The word slalom is the clearest case. It comes from the Norwegian dialect words for the rough hillside a skier ran down and the track left in the snow, from the races held on the fields of Morgedal in Telemark. If you want to see where all of it comes from, the ski museum at Holmenkollen in Oslo is the oldest in the world and covers a ski history reaching back about 5,000 years.

#1 Soccer

• Registered members: 410,988 (Norwegian Football Federation, 2024)
• Top national league: Eliteserien
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Erling Braut Haaland

Soccer is the biggest organized sport in Norway by a wide margin. Its 410,988 registered members make up close to a quarter of the 1,654,965 memberships held across all 52 sports federations, and the Norwegian federation counts more members than handball, golf and skiing put together.

The Eliteserien is the top division of the men’s league. The best known Norwegian player today is Erling Braut Haaland, the all time leading scorer for the men’s national team.

#2 Handball

• Registered members: 146,546 (Norwegian Handball Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Nora Mørk

Handball is the second largest sport in the country with 146,546 registered members. Its lead over golf, the sport directly behind it, comes down to 64 members.

Norwegian women’s handball is one of the strongest programs in the world. Nora Mørk was an Olympic champion in 2024, a world champion in 2015, 2021 and 2025 and a five time European champion.

#3 Golf

• Registered members: 146,482 (Norwegian Golf Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Suzann Pettersen

Golf ranks third with 146,482 registered members, which is more than skiing. That surprises most visitors, because the playing season in Norway is short and the country is better known for what happens on snow.

Suzann Pettersen played at the top of the professional world game from 2000 to 2019 and won major championships.

#4 Skiing

• Registered members: 109,976 (Norwegian Ski Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Marit Bjørgen

Skiing is fourth by membership with 109,976 people registered with the Norwegian Ski Federation, which covers cross country, alpine, ski jumping, nordic combined, freestyle and telemark in one organization.

Cross country skiing is the sport in which Norway has won the most Olympic medals, and historically Norway is the most successful nation in it. Marit Bjørgen is the most successful cross country skier of all time regardless of gender, with 41 Olympic and World Championship medals.

#5 Gymnastics

• Registered members: 105,083 (Norwegian Gymnastics Federation, 2024)

Gymnastics is the fifth largest sport in Norway with 105,083 registered members, ahead of track and field and swimming.

It is one of the sports whose size comes entirely from club membership, with no professional league to put it on television, which is why it rarely comes up when people name Norwegian sports.

#6 Track and Field

• Registered members: 77,616 (Norwegian Athletics Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Karsten Warholm

Track and field has 77,616 registered members and ranks sixth.

Karsten Warholm won Olympic gold in the 400 meter hurdles in Tokyo in 2021 and has been world champion several times.

#7 Swimming

• Registered members: 77,354 (Norwegian Swimming Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Alexander Dale Oen

Swimming sits seventh with 77,354 registered members, which puts it 262 members behind track and field.

Alexander Dale Oen was the first Norwegian man to win Olympic and world championship medals in swimming, taking Olympic silver in 2008 and the world title in the 100 meter breaststroke.

#8 Tennis and Padel

• Registered members: 42,357 (Norwegian Tennis and Padel Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Casper Ruud

Tennis and padel share one federation in Norway and together account for 42,357 registered members, eighth on the list.

Casper Ruud was the first Norwegian to win an ATP tour title and the second Norwegian to reach a Grand Slam singles final.

#9 Sport Shooting

• Registered members: 38,557 (Norwegian Sport Shooting Federation, 2024)

Sport shooting has 38,557 registered members and ranks ninth, ahead of equestrian sports and martial arts.

It has more registered members than basketball, sailing or ice hockey, none of which most lists of Norwegian sports leave out.

#10 Equestrian Sports

• Registered members: 36,420 (Norwegian Equestrian Federation, 2024)

Equestrian sports are tenth with 36,420 registered members.

Like gymnastics, this is a sport whose size in Norway comes from club membership rather than from professional competition.

#11 Martial Arts

• Registered members: 35,428 (Norwegian Martial Arts Federation, 2024)

Martial arts account for 35,428 registered members. The Norwegian federation is an umbrella body covering several disciplines, including taekwondo, karate, jujutsu and wushu, which is why the combined figure lands this high.

Judo and kickboxing have their own federations in Norway and are counted separately further down the ranking.

#12 Climbing

• Registered members: 34,964 (Norwegian Climbing Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Magnus Midtbø

Climbing has 34,964 registered members and ranks twelfth.

Magnus Midtbø won the Norwegian climbing championship 18 times, received 13 royal trophies and won seven Nordic championships.

#13 Cycling

• Registered members: 34,391 (Norwegian Cycling Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Thor Hushovd

Cycling has 34,391 registered members.

Thor Hushovd was world road race champion in 2010 and won ten Tour de France stages as well as the green points jersey.

#14 Bandy, Floorball and Field Hockey

• Registered members: 27,581 (Norwegian Bandy Federation, 2024)

Bandy, floorball and field hockey are organized in one federation in Norway, with 27,581 registered members between them.

That combined figure is worth keeping in mind when you compare this ranking with rankings from other countries, where the three sports are usually counted apart.

#15 Volleyball

• Registered members: 27,205 (Norwegian Volleyball Federation, 2024)
• Top national league: Mizunoligaen

Volleyball has 27,205 registered members.

The Mizunoligaen is the top national league.

#16 Paddling

• Registered members: 26,325 (Norwegian Paddling Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Eirik Verås Larsen

Paddling covers kayaking and canoeing in one federation and has 26,325 registered members. The coastline and the fjords give the sport more water than almost any other country in Europe.

Eirik Verås Larsen won 22 international championship medals as a kayak racer between 2000 and 2012, including Olympic gold.

#17 Motorsport

• Registered members: 25,024 (Norwegian Motorsport Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Petter Solberg

Motorsport has 25,024 registered members, which is more than basketball or ice hockey.

Petter Solberg is world rally champion from 2003 and world rallycross champion in 2014 and 2015, the only driver to have won world titles in both.

#18 Orienteering

• Registered members: 22,300 (Norwegian Orienteering Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Hanne Staff

Orienteering has 22,300 registered members. It is a Nordic specialty and stays far larger in Norway, Sweden and Finland than anywhere else.

Hanne Staff was individual world champion in 1997, 2001 and 2004 and relay world champion in 1999.

#19 Basketball

• Registered members: 20,320 (Norwegian Basketball Federation, 2024)
• Top national league: BLNO
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Torgeir Bryn

Basketball has 20,320 registered members and ranks nineteenth.

The BLNO is the top national league. Torgeir Bryn is the only Norwegian to have played in the NBA; over his career he played for 23 clubs in nine countries.

#20 Sailing

• Registered members: 19,904 (Norwegian Sailing Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Siren Sundby

Sailing has 19,904 registered members.

Siren Sundby won Olympic gold in the Europe dinghy in 2004, was twice world champion and was named world sailor of the year in 2003.

#21 Air Sports

• Registered members: 19,380 (Norwegian Air Sports Federation, 2024)

Air sports are bigger in Norway than many indoor sports, with 19,380 registered members. The federation covers parachuting, paragliding, hang gliding, gliding, ballooning and model flying.

#22 Ice Hockey

• Registered members: 19,280 (Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation, 2024)
• Best known Norwegian athlete: Mats Zuccarello

Ice hockey closes the top 22 with 19,280 registered members, more than biathlon (5,311) and speed and figure skating (9,157) have together.

Mats Zuccarello has been a long serving NHL forward and won the Gullpucken, the highest individual honor in Norwegian hockey.

Sources

• Norges idrettsforbund, annual report 2025, membership figures as of 31 December 2024
• Kantar Media, Norwegian TV meter panel, week 9 of 2025
• Kantar Media, Norwegian TV meter panel, week 24 of 2025
• Kantar Media, Norwegian TV meter panel, week 50 of 2024
• Store norske leksikon (Norwegian national encyclopedia), entry “ski”
• Store norske leksikon (Norwegian national encyclopedia), entry “langrenn”
• Norges idrettsforbund, key figures report 2024
• Store norske leksikon (Norwegian national encyclopedia), entry “skihopping”
• Store norske leksikon (Norwegian national encyclopedia), entry “Sondre Norheim”
• Store norske leksikon (Norwegian national encyclopedia), entry “telemarkkjøring – norgesmestere”
• Store norske leksikon (Norwegian national encyclopedia), entry “Birkebeinerrennet”
• Skimuseet i Holmenkollen (Skiforeningen)

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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