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A national sport is a sport or game that is considered to be a popularly intrinsic part of the culture or is the most popular sport of a country or nation.[1] In American English the term national pastime is often used.
Although there are normally no official parameters towards defining what is a national sport, there are some general characteristics that most national sports share:
- The rules and objectives of the sport or game are known in fairly great detail in the country or nation.
- The game or sport is widely played or watched in the country or nation.
- The game or sport has a long history of popularity or extreme current popularity in the country or nation.
In some countries, sport or game can become the official national pastime by mandate of the government, such as with Canada and lacrosse in 1994 (according to National Sports of Canada Act
CHAPTER N-16.7 (1994, c. 16)).In other countries, where the sport or game has such a long history, such as with baseball in the United States or sumo wrestling in Japan, the sport or game is often considered a de facto "official" national pastime. This article generally goes by the popularity of the sports in all the countries.
[edit] List of countries' national sports
- Canada - Lacrosse and ice hockey (although Canadians just refer to the sport as Hockey, dropping the word ice) are the official summer and winter sports respectively, but hockey is by far the sport most closely followed, and most closely linked to national identity. Lacrosse is a national sport for primarily historical reasons: sports like basketball, Canadian football (also American football), Association Football, golf, baseball, are all much more popular. However, besides hockey, lacrosse by far has more talented Canadians players than any other sport. Canada also fields one of the major national teams in the sport of curling.[21] Canada also boasts an international cricket team, to date they have taken part in three Cricket World Cups- 1979, 2003 and 2007.
- Cambodia - Kickboxing.[citation needed]
- Cameroon - Association Football.[citation needed]
- Cayman Islands - Cricket is the national and most followed sport, closely followed by rugby union.[22]
- Chile - Association Football, rugby union and Tennis. Chilean rodeo is the national traditional sport.
- People's Republic of China - Table tennis is the most popular sport and Association Football is the most watched sport on television.[23]Basketball is also very popular.
- Colombia - Tejo is the traditional sport, as is bullfighting, but Association Football is the main attraction, followed by baseball and basketball.[citation needed]
- Costa Rica - Association Football.[citation needed]
- Côte d'Ivoire - Association Football and rugby union.
- Croatia - Association Football. Handball, water polo and basketball are also widely popular.[citation needed]
- Cuba - Baseball. followed by Association Football and boxing.[citation needed]
- Czech Republic - Ice hockey is most popular sport followed a close second by Association Football.[citation needed]
- Iceland - Glima, but Association Football is the most popular.[citation needed]
- India - Hockey is the national game. Cricket is the most popular sport.
- Indonesia - Association Football is the most followed sport.[27]
- Iran - freestyle Wrestling is the traditional national sport, all kinds of combat sports and martial arts are popular such as: Greco-Roman wrestling, taekwondo, karate and kung fu. but Association Football is by far the most popular. Futsal and Volleyball also widely practised. and comptetivelly in weightlifting.[citation needed]
- Iraq – Association Football.[citation needed]
- Ireland - The traditional national sport is hurling[28], which was recorded being played in Ireland as long ago as 1272 BC . Gaelic football is the most popular sport; Association Football and rugby union are widely popular as are horse racing and golf. With the exception of Association Football most sports have continued to be played on an all Ireland basis since the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland were formed in 1922. Cricket remains a minority sport in Ireland, although its profile has increased since Ireland's surprise victory against top seed Pakistan in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
- Israel - Basketball is most popular sport and Association Football is second.[citation needed]
- Italy - Association Football is the most popular sport. Car racing (Maserati, Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Osella, Dallara), motorcycle racing (Benelli, MV Agusta, Mondial, Ducati, Aprilia, Beta) and cycling (Giro d'Italia) are part of the national identity, too. Rugby, basketball, volleyball, alpine skiing and tennis are popular in various places throughout Italy. Pallone col bracciale was ancient national and most popular sport in the 18th century and 19th century.[29]
- Kazakhstan - Boxing, Ice Hockey, rugby union, Association Football are popular as well.[citation needed]
- Kenya - Association Football is the most popular sport. Cricket is rapidly gaining in popularity being the second popular sport especially after the 2003 Cricket World Cup in which they upset several Test teams to be the first Associate Nation to make it to a Semi-Final. Kenya also won the inaugural World Cricket League featuring the top Associate nations and therefore qualified for the T20 World Cup.
- Korea, South Korea - Tae kwon do is the traditional national sport, though baseball, introduced by American soldiers during the Korean War, is the most popular today. Association Football has also become popular.
- Republic of Macedonia - Association Football, handball and basketball are the national sports.[citation needed]
- Madagascar - Rugby Union and Association Football are the most popular spectator sports. Rugby Union has vast numbers turning up to watch the national team play. However Association Football has a larger player base.[33]
- Malaysia - Silat, gasing, and wau are traditional sports, but Association Football followed a close second by badminton as the most popular sports today. Cricket is growing in popularity and Malaysia will host the 2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
- Maldives - Cricket
- Mauritius - Cricket, rugby union and Association Football.
- Mexico - Charrería and bullfighting are traditional sports, but Association Football is most popular by far. Lucha libre is the second most watched sport. Baseball and American football are also widely played and followed.[citation needed]
- Moldova - Rugby union and Association Football are the most widely followed sport.
- Mongolia - Wrestling and archery.[citation needed]
- Montenegro - Association Football and basketball.[citation needed]
- Morocco - Association Football, athletics, basketball, rugby union, Handball[citation needed]
- Mozambique - Association Football.[citation needed]
- Myanmar/Burma - Association Football.[34]
- Saint Kitts and Nevis - Cricket is the national sport, with intense inter-island rivalry.[42]
- Saint Lucia - Cricket is the most popular.[43]
- Samoa - Kilikiti and Rugby union.[citation needed]
- San Marino - Motorcycle racing, Baseball, Shooting
- Saudi Arabia - Falconry and horse racing are traditional, but Association Football draws the largest number of spectators.[citation needed]. Basketball is also popular.
- Senegal - Association Football.[citation needed]
- Serbia - Basketball is most popular sport and Association Football is second not far behind. Water polo and volleyball are also popular.[citation needed]
- Singapore - Cricket, swimming, Association Football, badminton and table tennis.[citation needed]
- Slovakia - Ice hockey is most popular sport. Association Football is very popular as well.[citation needed].
- Slovenia - Basketball is most popular sport and alpine skiing is second. Association Football is very popular as well.[citation needed]
- South Africa - Association Football and rugby union are most popular sports among all race groups, and then cricket.[44]
- Spain - Association Football is very popular in Spain, followed by auto racing, tennis, basketball and motorcycle racing. Bullfighting is traditional spectacle and sport.[45]
- Sri Lanka - Cricket is the most popular and seen as the national sport[46], while Volleyball is the national sport.[47]
- Sudan - Association Football.[citation needed]
- Switzerland - Schwingen, stone throwing and Hornussen, all traditional games, are popular in rural Switzerland, although ice hockey is most popular overall, Association Football and Alpine skiing are rising in popularity.[citation needed]
- Sweden - Ice hockey and Association Football are most popular sports watched by television. Bandy is the traditional Swedish winter sport.[48]
- Syria - Association Football.[citation needed]
[edit] Countries by most popular sport
Countries grouped by their most popular sport.
- Total number of countries where given sport is most popular is shown in brackets
[edit] American Football (1)
[edit] Archery (1)
[edit] Association Football (72)
| Country / Territory | Population
|
| Image:Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia | 222,781,000
|
| Image:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil | 187,104,851
|
| Image:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria | 131,530,000
|
| Image:Flag of Mexico.svg México | 107,029,000
|
| Image:Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam | 84,238,000
|
| Image:Flag of Germany.svg Germany | 82,689,000
|
| Image:Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt | 74,033,000
|
| Image:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey | 73,193,000
|
| Image:Flag of Iran.svg Iran | 69,515,000
|
| Image:Flag of France.svg France | 60,496,000
|
| Image:Flag of Italy.svg Italy | 58,093,000
|
| Image:Flag of England.svg England | 50,714,000
|
| Image:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar | 50,519,000
|
| Image:Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine | 46,481,000
|
| Image:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 43,064,000
|
| Image:Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia | 41,600,000
|
| Image:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina | 38,747,000
|
| Image:Flag of Poland.svg Poland | 38,530,000
|
| Image:Flag of Tanzania.svg Tanzania | 38,329,000
|
| Image:Flag of Sudan.svg Sudan | 36,233,000
|
| Image:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | 34,256,000
|
| Image:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria | 32,854,000
|
| Image:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco | 31,478,000
|
| Image:Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq | 28,807,000
|
| Image:Flag of Peru.svg Peru | 27,968,000
|
| Image:Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan | 26,593,000
|
| Image:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia | 25,347,000
|
| Image:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia | 24,573,000
|
| Image:Flag of North Korea.svg North Korea | 22,488,000
|
| Image:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana | 22,113,000
|
| Image:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | 21,711,000
|
| Image:Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen | 20,975,000
|
| Image:Flag of Mozambique.svg Mozambique | 19,792,000
|
| Image:Flag of Syria.svg Syria | 19,043,000
|
| Image:Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Côte d'Ivoire(Ivory Coast) | 18,154,000
|
| Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands | 16,337,000
|
| Image:Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon | 16,322,000
|
| Image:Flag of Chile.svg Chile | 16,295,000
|
| Image:Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador | 13,228,000
|
| Image:Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala | 12,599,000
|
| Image:Flag of Senegal.svg Senegal | 11,658,000
|
| Image:Flag of Greece.svg Greece | 11,120,000
|
| Image:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal | 10,569,592
|
| Image:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia | 10,102,000
|
| Image:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary | 10,098,000
|
| Image:Flag of Guinea.svg Guinea | 9,402,000
|
| Image:Flag of Bolivia.svg Bolivia | 9,182,000
|
| Image:Flag of Haiti.svg Haiti | 8,528,000
|
| Image:Flag of Benin.svg Benin | 8,439,000
|
| Image:Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia | 8,228,000
|
| Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria | 7,726,000
|
| Image:Flag of Honduras.svg Honduras | 7,205,000
|
| Image:Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador | 6,881,000
|
| Image:Flag of Paraguay.svg Paraguay | 6,158,000
|
| Image:Flag of Libya.svg Libya | 5,853,000
|
| Image:Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan | 5,703,000
|
| Image:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark | 5,431,000
|
| Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland | 5,094,800
|
| Image:Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Turkmenistan | 4,833,000
|
| Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia | 4,551,000
|
| Image:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica | 4,327,000
|
| Image:Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon | 3,577,000
|
| Image:Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay | 3,463,000
|
| Image:Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia | 3,283,000
|
| Image:Flag of Albania.svg Albania | 3,130,000
|
| Image:Flag of Armenia.svg Armenia | 3,016,000
|
| Image:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait | 2,687,000
|
| Image:Flag of Oman.svg Oman | 2,567,000
|
| Image:Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain | 698,585
|
| Image:Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro | 630,000
|
| Image:Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives | 359,008
|
| Image:Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland | 305,309
|
[edit] Australian rules football (1)
[edit] Baseball (9)
| Country / Territory | Population
|
| Image:Flag of Japan.svg Japan | 127,433,494
|
| Image:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea | 49,024,737
|
| Image:Flag of Venezuela.svg Venezuela | 26,749,000
|
| Image:Flag of the Republic of China.svg Republic of China (Taiwan) | 22,894,384
|
| Image:Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba | 11,269,000
|
| Image:Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Dominican Republic | 8,895,000
|
| Image:Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua | 5,487,000
|
| Image:Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Puerto Rico | 3,912,054
|
| Image:Flag of Panama.svg Panama | 3,232,000
|
[edit] Basketball (6)
| Country / Territory | Population
|
| Image:Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines | 83,054,000
|
| Image:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia | 10,350,265
|
| Image:Flag of Israel.svg Israel | 7,026,000
|
| Image:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania | 3,431,000
|
| Image:Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia | 1,967,000
|
| Image:Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia | 1,330,000
|
[edit] Biathlon (1)
[edit] Chess (1)
[edit] Cricket (21)
| Country / Territory | Population
|
| Image:Flag of India.svg India | 1,169,016,000
|
| Image:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan | 156,770,000
|
| Image:Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal | 27,133,000
|
| Image:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka | 20,743,000
|
| Image:Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Zimbabwe | 13,010,000
|
| Image:Flag of Zambia.svg Zambia | 11,668,000
|
| Image:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates | 4,496,000
|
| Image:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica | 2,651,000
|
| Image:Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia | 2,031,000
|
| Image:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago | 1,305,000
|
| Image:Flag of Mauritius.svg Mauritius | 1,219,220
|
| Image:Flag of Guyana.svg Guyana | 751,000
|
| Image:Flag of the Bahamas.svg The Bahamas | 323,000
|
| Image:Flag of Barbados.svg Barbados | 279,254
|
| Image:Flag of Saint Lucia.svg Saint Lucia | 160,765
|
| Image:Flag of Grenada.svg Grenada | 103,000
|
| Image:Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg Antigua and Barbuda | 82,786
|
| Image:Flag of Bermuda.svg Bermuda | 65,773
|
| Image:Flag of the Cayman Islands.svg Cayman Islands | 45,017
|
| Image:Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg Saint Kitts and Nevis | 42,696
|
[edit] Cycling (1)
[edit] Handball (1)
[edit] Horse Racing (1)
[edit] Gaelic Football (1)
[edit] Ice Hockey (6)
| Country / Territory | Population
|
| Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada | 32,668,000
|
| Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic | 10,220,000
|
| Image:Flag of Switzerland.svg Switzerland | 7,252,000
|
| Image:Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia | 5,401,000
|
| Image:Flag of Finland.svg Finland | 5,276,571
|
| Image:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia | 2,307,000
|
[edit] Kick Boxing (2)
[edit] Kilikiti(1)
[edit] Rugby League (1)
[edit] Rugby Union (6)
[edit] Sailing (1)
[edit] Skiing (4)
[edit] Wrestling (2)
[edit] Countries with two most popular sports
| Country / Territory | Population
|
| Image:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg People's Republic of China | 1,321,852,000 | Table tennis and association football
|
| Image:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa | 47,900,000 | Rugby union and association football
|
| Image:Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda | 27,616,000 | Rugby union and association football
|
| Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia | 20,835,000 | Australian football and rugby league
|
| Image:Flag of Madagascar.svg Madagascar | 18,606,000 | Rugby union and association football
|
| Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden | 9,041,000 | Ice hockey and association football
|
| Image:Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan | 8,411,000 | Chess and association football
|
| Image:Flag of Moldova.svg Moldova | 4,148,000 | Rugby union and association football
|
| Image:Flag of Macedonia.svg Republic of Macedonia | 2,034,000 | Association football and basketball
|
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Some statisticsbg:Национален спорт
da:Nationalsport
de:Nationalsport
es:Deporte nacional
fr:Liste des sports nationaux par pays
it:Sport nazionale
mr:राष्ट्रीय खेळ
ja:国技
pt:Esporte nacional
sv:Nationalsport