Sport and leisure
The Swiss love their sport, especially outdoor pursuits. Switzerland is one of the sportiest countries in Europe. Switzerland invests a great deal in sport, ranking among the most successful sporting nations despite its small size. From the best-known sports to more traditional Swiss sports you might not have heard of, a vast range of sports are popular in Switzerland.
The Swiss love their sport, especially outdoor pursuits. About 75% of people in Switzerland regularly practise a sport. Sport plays an important role in Switzerland. Tertiary education opportunities in this sector are numerous and characteristic of the Swiss education system. Switzerland is among the top ten medal-winning nations at the Winter Olympics and among the top 25 at the Summer Olympic Games.
Football, skiing and ice hockey are Switzerland's favourite sports. While football is one of the most practised and most-watched sports, during the winter months many people head to the piste for Switzerland's national sport, skiing. Swiss ice hockey is also guaranteed to fill stadiums.
Switzerland is famous for tennis thanks to the successes of its tennis stars, but other disciplines such as Swiss wrestling, equestrian sports and shooting are equally popular. The Swiss landscape lends itself to a plethora of other outdoor pursuits.
Tertiary education opportunities in this sector are numerous and characteristic of the Swiss education system. There are some 25 courses of study dedicated to sport, health or movement sciences. Sports students have the choice of eight institutions – seven universities and one university of applied sciences.
Sport and leisure – facts and figures
- People in Switzerland are especially sporty, even in comparison to our sporty European neighbours. Only 16% of people living in Switzerland say they don't engage in sport.
- Switzerland has about 19,000 sports clubs with a total of two million licensed members. A quarter of Swiss residents aged between 5 and 74 belong to a sports club.
- There are 32,000 sports facilities in Switzerland and 980 fitness centres.
- Since the beginning of the modern Olympic Games, Swiss athletes have won 205 medals in summer disciplines and 153 in the winter sports.
- Switzerland ranks among the top ten medal-winning nations at the Winter Olympics and is among the top 25 at the Summer Olympics.
- Roger Federer, a former tennis player, is the most internationally renowned Swiss athlete. With his 20 Grand Slam titles and 103 tournament victories, he is one of the most successful athletes in the world.
- Over 40 international federations and international sports-related organisations have their headquarters in Switzerland, mostly in the canton of Vaud.
- Switzerland has 2,400 ski lifts, of which 51% are drag lifts.
- Alpine skiing is the discipline in which Switzerland has won the most medals at the Olympic Games (66), closely followed by artistic gymnastics (49 medals).
- Nearly 11,000 ice hockey matches are played every year by some 850 teams.
- Football is the most popular sport in Switzerland. Around 10,000 matches take place every weekend. Switzerland has more than 1,300 football clubs, with more than 270,000 licensed players (of whom 9% are women and 63% junior players).
- Switzerland has a number of traditional sports, some of which you may not have heard of. ‹Schwingen› is traditional Swiss wrestling, ‹Hornuss› is like a cross between baseball and golf, and throwing the Unspunnen is Switzerland's version of ‹stone put›.
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National sports
The most popular sports in Switzerland are football, skiing and ice hockey. They attract thousands of spectators.
Other sports and leisure pursuits
Outdoor pursuits are very popular in Switzerland, especially cycling and hiking. Swiss tennis is famous for its star players, but it is not the only sport played at a high level in Switzerland.