The number of Welsh adults participating in sport at least three times a week has increased by two percentage points according to a new Sport Wales survey.

The organisation’s Active Adults Survey revealed that 41 per cent of individuals aged 15+ in 2014 were “hooked on sport” compared to 39 per cent in 2012 and 29 per cent in 2008.

Sport Wales chief executive Sarah Powell said that the “swell in numbers” was down to the legacy of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

“There’s huge potential to engage more people and I’m thrilled to see the appetite for doing more sport and volunteering so high in Wales,” she added. “The challenge now is for us and the sport sector to grow an offer that meets the needs of those people who want to try more sport.”

walking was the most frequent activity with a 47 per cent participation rate, followed by exercise and fitness and swimming with 21 per cent and 15 per cent participation rates respectively.

The report found there was still a gender gap in participation, with 46 per cent of males taking part in regular physical activity compared to 35 per cent of females. The gap was even more stark when comparing disabled (29 per cent) and non-disabled (48 per cent) participants. People from deprived areas (39 per cent) are also less likely to participate regularly.

While the number of volunteers decreased from 10 per cent of the population to nine per cent, the number of volunteering hours went up by 25 per cent from 2008 – bringing about £300m (US$433.1m, €388.4m) of economic value to Wales.

More than two-thirds of the population (1m people) not already “hooked on sport” said they would like to do more physical activity.

“You don’t have to be an elite athlete to be a Welsh sportsperson,” added Powell. “We want to make sure we create more opportunities for that 1m who want to do more sport. Whether that is to discover new activities, meet new people or achieve personal goals, we need to entice them to be active.”