Close to 80 per cent of the population did not attend any sports events in 2015, with just over 11 per cent attending more than four events.

Data issued by Eurostat, the European statistics office, shows that attendance at sports events in Malta was fourth lowest when compared to that of other EU member states.

At EU level, 70.4 per cent of the population in all member states did not attend any sports events in the year under review.

Attendance at sports events in Malta was fourth lowest when compared to that of other EU member states

According to the data, those with children were more likely to attend, with 27.9 per cent of such families (EU: 35.6%) saying they had been at least once during the year under review.

Households with no children were less likely to frequent sports events, with just 17.2 per cent (EU: 26.1%) attending at least once in 2015.

The data also outlines attendance to other social events – mainly live performances, cultural sites and the cinema.

Just over 70 per cent did not attend a single live performance - including theatre performances, concerts and ballet.

According to the statistics office, 57.9 per cent of EU nationals did not attend any such events.

The portion of the population visiting cultural sites was even lower, with 73.6 per cent saying they had not walked into a museum, art gallery, archaeological site or historical monument even once in 2015. The EU average stood at 57.3 per cent.

While sports events, live performances and cultural sites were not very popular, this was not the case with trips to the cinema. Although two thirds of the population did not visit the cinema, this was still the most popular activity of the four reviewed.

As with sports event, households with children were more likely to watch films on the big screen, with 44.6 per cent visiting the cinema at least once.

The figure goes down to 26 per cent for households without children.