Contents
- Surfing participation statistics: Australian participation estimates
- Surfing participation statistics: Australian gender profile
- Surfing participation statistics: Australian state distribution
- Surfing participation statistics: New South Wales frequency and expertise
- New Zealand surfing participation statistics: annual totals and gender
- Sources
Surfing participation statistics: Australian participation estimates
Participation estimates depend on who is counted and what counts as participation. The Australian Sports Commission’s 2025 figures describe people who surfed at least once during the year, separating adults aged 15 and older from children aged 0–14. That definition makes the estimates useful as a broad measure of reach; it does not describe how often each person surfed or how experienced they were. Australian Sports Commission, Surfing
| Australian participation estimate, 2025 | People |
|---|---|
| Ages 15 and older | 313,000 |
| Ages 0–14 | 22,000 |
The adult estimate is substantially larger than the child estimate in this reporting. The figures are population estimates, not a count of visits to beaches, sessions, or memberships. They should be read with the age bands intact: the adult number begins at 15, while the children’s category ends at 14. Australian Sports Commission, Surfing
The same page reports 2025 estimates for women and men aged 15 and older: 121,000 women and 192,000 men participated at least once. These are adult gender-specific estimates and use the same annual participation threshold. The child estimate is separate; no gender split for children is stated in the checked figures. Australian Sports Commission, Surfing
These estimates offer a recent Australian snapshot under a clear “at least once” definition. They do not by themselves establish whether participation rose or fell compared with prior years. A trend requires comparable observations using the same age coverage, question wording, and survey approach.
Surfing participation statistics: Australian gender profile
A different Australian snapshot comes from Surf Life Saving Australia’s 2019 national coastal survey. Its gender figure labels the surfing participant estimate as 1.4 million and shows a 68% male and 32% female composition. The report’s methodology identifies the coastal survey reference population as Australians aged 16 and above. National Coastal Safety Report 2019, Surf Life Saving Australia
| 2019 Australian coastal survey measure | Reported value |
|---|---|
| Estimated surfing participants | 1.4 million |
| Male share | 68% |
| Female share | 32% |
The percentage values describe the composition of the report’s surfing participants, while 1.4 million is the displayed participant total. The male and female shares together account for the complete split shown in the figure. The scope is the 2019 coastal survey, rather than the 2025 annual estimate described above. National Coastal Safety Report 2019, Surf Life Saving Australia
The two Australian snapshots should not be read as a direct time series. The SLSA figure reports a 2019 survey estimate for a reference population aged 16 and above; the ASC page reports 2025 estimates for people aged 15 and above and children aged 0–14, with participation defined as surfing at least once. The reported totals therefore have different scopes and come from different reporting contexts. SLSA 2019 report; ASC surfing estimates
Surfing participation statistics: Australian state distribution
The 2019 SLSA report also presents surfing participation by state as shares of reported Australian participants. The displayed values range from 2% for the Northern Territory to 10% for New South Wales. These are state distribution shares, not the percentage of each state’s residents who surf. National Coastal Safety Report 2019, Surf Life Saving Australia
| State or territory | Share of reported participants, 2019 |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | 10% |
| South Australia | 9% |
| Queensland | 7% |
| Western Australia | 5% |
| Victoria | 5% |
| Tasmania | 4% |
| Northern Territory | 2% |
New South Wales has the largest listed share in this figure, followed by South Australia. Queensland is shown at 7%; Western Australia and Victoria are each shown at 5%; Tasmania is at 4%; and the Northern Territory is at 2%. The chart excerpt does not provide a state-resident participation rate, so these numbers should not be interpreted as prevalence within each jurisdiction. National Coastal Safety Report 2019, Surf Life Saving Australia
The distribution is useful for describing where reported participants were allocated in the survey’s state breakdown. It does not alone explain the reasons behind the shares or establish that residents of one state surf more frequently than those elsewhere. Those questions require other measures, such as participation rates with state population denominators or frequency data collected consistently by state.
Surfing participation statistics: New South Wales frequency and expertise
The 2020 Coastal Safety Report from Surf Life Saving NSW provides a more detailed NSW snapshot. Its surfing panel estimates 0.6 million participants and 0.2 million frequent participants. The survey was conducted online from April 9 to 21, 2020, among respondents aged 16 and above, with relevant statistics extracted for New South Wales. Coastal Safety Report 2020, Surf Life Saving NSW
| NSW surfing measure, 2020 | Reported value |
|---|---|
| Estimated participants | 0.6 million |
| Estimated frequent participants | 0.2 million |
| Frequent participants | 42% |
| Occasional participants | 58% |
The panel divides participating respondents into frequent and occasional categories, with 42% labelled frequent and 58% occasional. It also displays the corresponding estimates of 0.6 million total participants and 0.2 million frequent participants. The report’s measure is specific to the NSW coastal survey and should not be treated as a national frequency profile. Coastal Safety Report 2020, Surf Life Saving NSW
The expertise display adds a self-reported profile: 21% selected “Can’t say,” 46% selected “Beginner,” and 33% selected “Intermediate.” These categories describe how surfing participants characterized their expertise in the survey. “Can’t say” is a reported response category and should remain visible rather than being folded into either skill group. Coastal Safety Report 2020, Surf Life Saving NSW
| Self-reported expertise among NSW surfing participants, 2020 | Share |
|---|---|
| Can’t say | 21% |
| Beginner | 46% |
| Intermediate | 33% |
The frequency and expertise measures answer different questions: one distinguishes frequent from occasional participation, while the other records perceived expertise. The survey panel gives a cross-sectional view from 2020, fielded over 13 calendar days in April. It does not establish how the same people’s habits or skills changed over time. Coastal Safety Report 2020, Surf Life Saving NSW
New Zealand surfing participation statistics: annual totals and gender
Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s 2025 National Beach and Coastal Safety Report provides an annual national surfer estimate series for 2021–2024. The page 17 surfing section reports total surfers in millions: 0.23 million in 2021, 0.22 million in 2022, 0.25 million in 2023, and 0.30 million in 2024. National Beach and Coastal Safety Report 2025, Surf Life Saving New Zealand
| Survey year | Total surfers (millions) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 0.23 |
| 2022 | 0.22 |
| 2023 | 0.25 |
| 2024 | 0.30 |
The series shows a lower estimate in 2022 than in 2021, followed by higher displayed estimates in 2023 and 2024. These are annual estimates, not exact enumerations. The report’s synopsis describes the National Coastal and Water Safety Survey period and an adult reference population; the surfer values here belong to that report’s annual national display. National Beach and Coastal Safety Report 2025, Surf Life Saving New Zealand
The same surfing section provides gender shares for each year. The male share is 59% in 2021, 63% in 2022, 65% in 2023, and 71% in 2024. The female share is 41%, 37%, 35%, and 29% in those respective years. National Beach and Coastal Safety Report 2025, Surf Life Saving New Zealand
| Survey year | Male share | Female share |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59% | 41% |
| 2022 | 63% | 37% |
| 2023 | 65% | 35% |
| 2024 | 71% | 29% |
Across the displayed years, the male share rises in each successive annual entry while the female share falls in each entry. This describes the composition shown in the series; it does not explain why the shares differ or establish a cause. The percentages should be read alongside the report’s survey context and as gender composition, not as gender-specific population participation rates. National Beach and Coastal Safety Report 2025, Surf Life Saving New Zealand
Taken together, the Australian and New Zealand figures illustrate several distinct ways participation is reported: annual “at least once” estimates, a survey participant total and gender split, state shares, frequency categories, expertise responses, and an annual national series. Their different geographies, populations, survey methods, and periods mean they should be used as separate snapshots rather than combined into a single comparable measure.