Lifestyle Analysis
Favourite sport (%) in 2012
www.abs.gov.au/censusatschool
Netball
Table 11: Favourite sport by sex (%)
Males
2011
Males
2012
Females
2011
Athletics
2.1
2.1
4.1
3.9
Baseball/Softball
1.7
1.8
1.3
1.0
Basketball
8.1
8.5
6.9
7.6
Cricket
5.6
4.8
0.6
0.7
Cycling
2.0
2.1
0.8
1.1
Dancing
1.0
1.1
15.3
14.9
15.6
15.7
1.1
1.1
Football (Rugby League)
9.4
8.1
1.1
0.9
Football (Rugby Union)
3.9
3.9
0.2
0.2
17.3
17.5
7.0
6.6
Golf
1.4
1.4
0.3
0.4
Gymnastics
0.6
0.8
4.2
3.8
Hockey
2.5
2.5
3.0
3.3
Martial Arts
3.4
3.3
2.0
1.9
Netball
0.4
0.3
22.7
22.8
Skateboarding/Rollerblading
2.8
2.6
1.2
1.6
Swimming
4.2
3.9
9.4
9.9
Tennis
4.3
5.5
4.3
4.2
10.5
10.1
10.8
10.7
None
3.4
4.0
3.6
3.6
Total
100.2
100.0
99.9
100.2
Favourite Sport
Football (AFL)
Football (Soccer)
Other activities/sports
Source: CensusAtSchool - Australia 2011 and 2012
Nearly a quarter of Australian girls chose
netball as their favourite sport.
Females
2012
Football (AFL)
Football (Soccer)
AFL football was the second most
popular sport for boys in 2012
(16%). In 2008 and 2010, footy
was the preferred sport of Aussie
boys, but from 2011 onwards,
soccer became more popular.
For the last two years, soccer
has remained the favourite sport
of Australian boys (around 17%).
Tennis
For boys, tennis as a favourite
sport has continued to increase in
popularity to nearly 6%, whist for
girls it has remained steady at 4%.
Dancing
Dancing remains girls' second
favourite sport, steady at 15%
since 2008.
Basketball
Basketball has been increasing in
popularity for boys and girls, with
nearly 9% of boys and 8% of girls
indicating that this was was their
favourite sport.