ABSTRACT
This chapter examines trends in sports participation, organisation and policy in Denmark, highlighting common themes and outcomes. National-level surveys on sports participation in Denmark hold information about more than 50 years of involvement in sport. The Danish study on sports participation habits primarily focuses on leisure-time physical activity but briefly touches upon people's general physical activity levels in everyday life. The social divisions in sport and exercise among adults shine through in the patterns of children's participation, which seem to mirror their parent's leisure-time habits. While democratisation in sports participation has occurred over time in Denmark, particularly in relation to age and gender, social stratification in sport occurs in relation to educational background and ethnicity. Ethnicity is also a strong source of social division in terms of differing activity levels in Denmark. Self-organised sport and exercise is the most popular organisational form of participation among adult Danes.
