How many children in Russia are involved in sports: statistics by year
· Family, maternity and childhood
In 2025, 20.97 million children aged 3 to 15 regularly participated in physical culture and sports. In 2010, there were 10.58 million such children. The number doubled over fifteen years. At the same time, the share of children attending any kind of additional developmental activities has been declining over the same period. Data from Rosstat.
The two trends are moving in opposite directions, and this is not a contradiction but a difference in what exactly is being counted. Below are the full data from 2010, broken down by region, and an explanation of the methodology.
Children involved in sports: table by year
Number of children aged 3–15 regularly participating in physical culture and sports, people.
| Year | Children | Annual increase |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 10,577,628 | |
| 2011 | 11,709,420 | +1,131,792 |
| 2012 | 12,241,333 | +531,913 |
| 2013 | 13,382,124 | +1,140,791 |
| 2014 | 14,576,697 | +1,194,573 |
| 2015 | 16,022,664 | +1,445,967 |
| 2016 | 16,913,699 | +891,035 |
| 2017 | 16,710,137 | −203,562 |
| 2018 | 17,372,640 | +662,503 |
| 2019 | 19,013,681 | +1,641,041 |
| 2020 | 19,496,092 | +482,411 |
| 2021 | 20,188,557 | +692,465 |
| 2022 | 20,690,370 | +501,813 |
| 2023 | 20,816,441 | +126,071 |
| 2024 | 21,189,119 | +372,678 |
| 2025 | 20,968,804 | −220,315 |
The series grew almost without pauses until 2024, and in 2025 it declined for the first time since 2017. The drop is small, 220 thousand people, and is mainly explained by demographics: the number of children’s cohorts is decreasing. The full series is available in the dataset on the website.
The growth rate slowed down noticeably earlier. From 2011 to 2015, the indicator increased by an average of more than a million children per year, and since 2020 the average increase has dropped to about 300 thousand. The pool of children not yet involved in sports has been exhausted.
What this indicator measures
The figure of 21 million seems huge against the backdrop of the total population under working age, which stands at 27.2 million people. The explanation lies in the definition.
Rosstat does not count sports sections but systematic physical culture and sports activities. The coverage includes school sports sections and clubs, general physical training groups, Olympic reserve schools, paid sections and clubs. A child attending a school volleyball section once a week is counted in this statistic on a par with a pupil of a sports school.
This does not make the indicator meaningless, but it changes how it is read. The series shows not the number of future athletes but the coverage of children with organised physical activity. Over fifteen years, the coverage has doubled, and the lion’s share of the growth has come precisely from school and municipal forms.
Regions
Number of children aged 3–15 engaged in sports, 2025, people.
| Region | Children |
|---|---|
| Moscow | 1,379,424 |
| Moscow Region | 1,315,506 |
| Krasnodar Krai | 881,257 |
| Tyumen Region with autonomous districts | 713,319 |
| Saint Petersburg | 697,397 |
| Sverdlovsk Region | 678,157 |
| Republic of Bashkortostan | 637,832 |
The list mirrors the ranking of regions by the number of children, and there is nothing noteworthy in the absolute figures. Bringing up the rear are the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (6,478 children), Chukotka (8,800) and Magadan Region (15,622), where there are simply so many children living.
Supplementary classes: the trend reverses
The second indicator from the same survey measures the share of children aged 3–18 attending supplementary developmental classes of any profile, including free-of-charge ones.
| Year | Share of children, % |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 93.8 |
| 2017 | 54.4 |
| 2019 | 56.3 |
| 2021 | 55.2 |
| 2023 | 54.2 |
| 2025 | 49.8 |
The drop between 2013 and 2017 is almost certainly methodological: such a sharp change in coverage over four years is unlikely. However, the trend from 2017 onward is clear: the share hovered around 55% and in 2025 fell to 49.8%, dipping below half for the first time.
Within this indicator, there is a counterintuitive detail. In families with one child, supplementary classes are attended by 17.7% of children, in families with two children by 20.5%, and in families with three or more children by 11.6%. The latter group is the only one growing: in 2017 it was 6.9%. Large families increased coverage 1.7-fold over eight years, while other groups saw a decline.
Questions and answers
How many children in Russia are involved in sports?
20.97 million children aged 3–15 according to 2025 data. The indicator includes all forms of systematic physical culture and sports activities, not just sports schools.
Is the number of children involved in sports growing?
Over fifteen years, the number has doubled, from 10.6 to 21.0 million. However, in 2025 the series declined for the first time since 2017, by 220 thousand people.
How many children attend supplementary classes?
49.8% of children aged 3–18 in 2025. This is the lowest value in the observed period and the first below half.
Why is the figure for children involved in sports so large?
Because school sections, physical fitness groups, and municipal clubs are included, not just specialized sports schools. The indicator measures coverage, not athletic proficiency.
Where do these data come from?
From the integrated observation of living conditions of the population and departmental reporting, which Rosstat compiles in the section ‘Family, motherhood and childhood’. The observation is conducted every two years, departmental series annually.
In brief
The number of children aged 3–15 who regularly participate in physical culture and sports grew from 10.6 million in 2010 to 21.0 million in 2025, but last year it fell for the first time. The indicator measures coverage by organised physical activity, including school sections, so the figure is large. A parallel series on additional developmental activities is declining: 49.8% of children in 2025 versus 54.4% in 2017, with growth only among large families.
All series are taken from Rosstat open publications and are updated on the website as new data appear.