With the fitness craze taking over the world, as shown by ‘fitness’ tag being the third most used on TikTok in 2020, amassing over 56 billion pieces of tagged content, Compare the Market wanted to find out which countries really are the most fitness focused. To do this, they ranked 20 countries around the world to see which is the most gym-crazed.
The health insurance comparison experts revealed that pilates has taken Australia by storm, with the second highest search volume per capita of the study.
In terms of the rankings as a whole, Australia tied for fifth with its neighbour New Zealand. Across the index, Australia tended to do mostly well, though struggled with any cost-related metrics.
The country had the fourth-highest number of gyms per capita, with 29 per 100,000 population.
Australia landed as one of the more expensive countries for gym goers, placing as the second most expensive for a pair of mid-range fitness shoes, and sixth-most expensive in terms of average monthly fitness club fees.
France and Ireland took the top two placements of the index, with both countries performing above average across the board. France in particular placed as a dominant first, with a an extremely high search volume.
Pilates was the keyword which saw the most global search volume through 2024, surpassing both ‘gym’ and ‘workout’ searches combined for most countries.
Most Gym-Crazed Countries Index
| 2024 Search Volume (Yearly) (Per 100,000) | |||||||
| Rank | Country | Number of Gyms per 100,000 | Average Fitness Club Cost, Monthly (AUD) | Average Cost of Nike Running Shoe (Mid-Range) (AUD) | Gym | Workout | Pilates |
| 1 | France | 60 | $54.15 | $148.85 | 13,080 | 706 | 11,812 |
| 2 | Ireland | 31 | $83.38 | $142.74 | 1,272 | 410 | 1,636 |
| 3 | Canada | 23 | $65.12 | $135.75 | 768 | 140 | 1,687 |
| 4 | Mexico | 10 | $52.33 | $135.85 | 809 | 402 | 476 |
| 5 | Australia | 29 | $74.37 | $160.58 | 899 | 114 | 2,111 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 22 | $55.82 | $145.25 | 645 | 392 | 1,062 |
| 7 | United States | 26 | $75.62 | $142.79 | 662 | 203 | 1,433 |
| 8 | Portugal | 30 | $62.77 | $130.08 | 281 | 80 | 1,318 |
| 9 | Poland | 7 | $54.50 | $128.76 | 417 | 72 | 1,808 |
| 10 | Brazil | 14 | $33.20 | $107.70 | 178 | 126 | 440 |
To view the full dataset, click here.
Compare the Market’s Executive General Manager of Health Insurance, Steven Spicer, notes how health insurance could help cover your workout routine.
“Not everyone is aware that gym memberships can be included on some health insurance policies when the membership forms part of a health management plan,” Mr Spicer said.
“Finding a health insurance policy that pays a benefit towards your active lifestyle could help to cut back your monthly expenses overall.
“This doesn’t only apply to gym memberships though; some insurers can help cover you for other activities such as group fitness classes.
“If you’re a regular to any of these and you’re in the market for health insurance anyway, it makes sense to compare policies to find an option that helps you cover your lifestyle. Just keep in mind that some health funds have specific requirements which must be met before a member can claim on their gym membership benefits.”
For the full results, assets and methodology, please visit: Gym Junkie Countries
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For interviews and more information, please contact:
Lachlan Moore | [email protected]
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