The Romanians are last in the EU when it comes to doing physical activities in their free time, according to data from EU’s statistical office Eurostat.

Only 7.5% of Romanians aged over 18 spent at least two and a half hours per week exercising in 2014, this being the lowest share in the EU. Bulgarians come second to last, with a share of 9%. Meanwhile, over 80% of the Romanians didn't do any physical exercise in their leisure time, compared to under 50% of the Europeans.

The highest shares of people who spent at least two and a half hours per week exercising were found in Finland - 54.1%, Denmark - 53.4%, and Sweden - 53.1%. They were followed by Austria - 49.8%, and Germany - 47.3%.

At EU level, almost half of the population aged 18 and over didn’t do any sport in 2014 while almost a third (29.9%) spent at least two and a half hours per week of leisure time doing physical activities, including cycling as a way of transportation. The proportion of those who exercised for at least two and a half hours per week was higher among men (34.5) than women (25.6%), the data shows.

Moreover, while the time spent on exercise tends to decrease with age, it tends to increase with the education level of the individual. Overall in the EU, 40.5% of the highly-educated people spent at least two and a half hours per week on physical activities, compared to less than a quarter (19.2%) of those with a low education level.

Only 6% of Romanians exercise regularly

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com