74 per cent of EU citizens are not members of any type of sport or exercise club, according to the latest Eurobarometer report.

When looking at the sports club figures from 2009, it shows a rise from 67 per cent in 2009 to 74 per cent in 2013.

However, in 2009, the 12 per cent of people who were members of a sports club stayed the same. Health and fitness centres were the only ones to see an increase in club membership, moving from 9 per cent in 2009 to 11 percent in 2013.

Sweden has the highest proportion for memberships at health or fitness clubs at 33 per cent, with Denmark in second place at 25 per cent.

Lithuania and Bulgaria were the lowest for memberships at 1 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.

In comparison, sports club memberships show the Netherlands have the highest memberships at 27 per cent, while Denmark follows again in second at 25 per cent.

Bulgaria was in the bottom two again, with 2 per cent membership, while Romania was bottom of the pile at 1 per cent.

One significant difference found between the 2009 and 2013 results was the engagement levels of women in comparison to men. Younger women especially, seem to be less active than men. Encouraging increased participation in sport among women is a key goal as a response to these results.

High levels of inactivity also exists among men and women over 55 years old. The report showed 71 per cent of women and 70 per cent of men in this age group are physically inactive.

The Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. The surveys address a variety of issues relating to the European Union across its member states.