Sample Detail

The bar chart compares the percentages of survey respondents in the UK who expressed an interest in six different types of sports in 1995, 2000 and 2005. Overall, football was consistently the most popular sport throughout the period and registered a gradual increase in popularity. While snooker and tennis showed sharp declines, rugby despite the initial decrease, recovered strongly in 2005. Swimming peaked in 2000 before falling slightly by 2005, whereas golf remained comparatively stable. Football attracted the highest share of respondents in each year, with interest rising from around 41% in 1995 to 42% in 2000 and then to 44% in 2005. Swimming depicted a different pattern. The percentage of people interested in this sport increased substantially from nearly 22% to 28% between 1995 and 2000 before decreasing moderately to about 25% in 2005. Meanwhile, rugby accounted for approximately 24% of responses in 1995, fell to 19% in 2000 and eventually rebounded to 27% by 2005. The remaining sports generally became less attractive to respondents over the decade. Interest in snooker stood at 30% in 1995, making it become the second most popular sport at that time, but this figure dropped sharply to around 21% in 2000, followed by a mild growth to 23% in 2005. Tennis followed the same trajectory, declining from nearly 28% to 23%. Golf witnessed the least variation, hovering from 25% to 17% throughout the given period.