Y E A R I N S P O RT

2021
 37M
uploads per week

2M
new athletes

per month

While 2021 carried over much of what

was familiar about 2020, it also showed

bright glimpses of a world making progress

33B
against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kilometers COVERED

Major events returned to the global stage,

and the momentum of everyday athletes
continued to make waves. The growing
numbers and achievements captured on

95M
Intro

Strava make it clear that even in times of TOTAL ATHLETES

crisis, we can find light in sport and 

the communities we build when we're
active together.
 04 Sports keep on growing

08 Walking the walk

Contents

12 Competing against climate change

14 Digital community thrives

17 Appendix
 A l l- t i m e Act i v i t y U p loa d s

6 Billion N ov e m b e r 2021

5 Billion A p r i l 2021

4 Billion S e p t e m b e r 2020

3 Billion F e b r ua ry 2020

Sports keep 
 2 Billion D ec e m b e r 201 8

on growing
1 Billion M ay 2017

The sports boom that started at the beginning of

the pandemic continued on through 2021. We saw
a 38% annual increase in activities even on top of
0
last year's surge — totaling 1.8 billion uploads over 2012

201 4

2020
201 6

2022
201 8
the past 12 months.
 Sports Keep on Growing 2021 Vs 2020: Increase in Activity Uploads

Outdoor run 1.3X

Outdoor Ride 1.2X

Outdoor walk 2.0X

Sport-type hike 1.7X

growth indoor + vr run 1.4X

indoor + vr ride 1.4X

The increase in uploads isn't limited to a select yoga 2.0X
few sports. Sport types across the board are still
on the rise, even over the sharp increases from
2020. Walking and hiking show some of the workout 1.7X
strongest continued growth, alongside yoga

and other indoor workouts.

swim 1.3X

No Lifts Necessary nordic + backcountry ski 2.5X

2021 saw the full brunt of resort closures and restrictions, 

and with alpine skiing and snowboarding down 37% compared
to last season (Oct. 2019 – Sept. 2020), this helps explain the 0.0x 1.0x 2.0x 3.0x
massive response in backcountry and nordic skiing.
 Sports Keep on Growing 2021 V s 2020 : I n c re a se in new at h l etes * r u nning person a l bests

*Athletes who joined in 2020 and have run a given event distance at least two times. No first-time PRs!

3x

2.7X
2.4X
2x

2.2X
1.7X
1.6X
Motivation 1x

The search for motivation remained a theme in 0

2021, and on the whole, athletes stayed hot on 5k 10k Half marathon marathon 50k
its heels.

New sports "boomers" Out and a route

New Year's goals
People keep people active

Since launching the Maps tab in May, Athletes who set a goal for the 
 Half of all Group Challenge participants
The big spike in runners from last year is still fresh on our
we've generated over 120 million new year were 2 hours more active 
 uploaded more activities in the 30 days
minds, and running is still fresh on theirs. Of runners who joined suggested routes for cyclists, runners in January than those who didn't. after starting a challenge than in the 

in 2020, 1.8X as many set a new PR (5K, half marathon, etc.) and walkers to explore. 30 days prior.
this year than last.
 Share of walk uploads among all activities

2019 2020 2021

25%

24%
20%

15%

15%

15%
15%

13%

12%
10%

10%

10%

10%

10%

10%
10%

7%

7%
6%

6%

6%
5%

5%

5%

5%
5%

4%

4%
3%
0%

ALL BRA FRA GER JPN ESP UK USA

Walking 
 Share of athletes with walk uploads

the walk 18-29

35%
41%
30-39
47%
AGe Group

40- 49
With COVID-19 restrictions still in place and 50%
50- 59
perhaps a stronger desire than ever to make 
 60-69
54%
a little space in the day, we've seen walking 56%
70+
become more popular across all age groups 

and across the world. 0% 20% 40% 60%
 Walking the Walk Average Weekly Walking Time Per Athlete

UNITED KINGDOM 3.5

USA 2.5
AUSTRALIA 2.7
CANADA 2.9
FRANCE 3.2
GERMANY 3.0
SPAIN 3.7
BRAZIL 3.0

Weekly time INDIA

SOUTH AFRICA
3.3
2.3

For most people, it's more than just a JAPAN 2.4

quick stroll around the block. Those who
regularly upload walks record around 2.5
to 4 hours a week. O HOURS 1 HOUR 2 HOURS 3 HOURS 4 HOURS
 Walking the Walk 2 0 2 1 Walk / r u n / r i d e ov e r lap

Athlete Overlap

20% of walkers 

both run and ride

Cyclist / 
 17% of cyclists also walk

41% of walkers also ride

runner overlap 20% of runners also walk

46% of walkers also run

While we see a healthy amount of athletes

Female Athlete Overlap Male Athlete Overlap

who only record walks, two-thirds of walkers on

Strava also run or ride, with female runners and
cyclists 2.4X as likely to upload walks as males.

32% of female 
 14% of male 


Time well spent cyclists also walk cyclists also walk
Getting those steps in every now and then has an outsized
effect – cyclists and runners who walk are 16.1% more likely to 32% of female 15% of male 

still be active six months down the road than those who don't. runners also walk runners also walk
 Ex t re m e weath er and c h an g e in athl e t e b e h av ior

5
4

Competing 

6
1
2
3

against

climate change 8
9

As if the pandemic itself wasn't enough, athletes

around the globe still had extreme weather events
to deal with – ranging across heat, cold, storms
and hazardous air quality from wildfires. 1 Texas, UNITED STATES
4 UNITED KINGDOM
7 Mani l a, Ph i l ippine s

Winter storm and power outages

Storm Christoph
Flooding

-57% outdoor activities 
 -32% outdoor activities 
 -20% outdoor activities

February 13 – 17 January 18 – 20
July 24 – 31

H eadin g Indoors 2 Louisiana, UNITED STATES

5 Moscow, Russia
8 Lesser Sunda Is l ands, Indonesia

Hurricane Ida
Heatwave
Flooding from Cyclone Seroja

-40% outdoor activities 
 -13% outdoor activities

-45% outdoor activities

It's hard to predict how extreme weather will affect indoor August 26 – September 1
June 21 – 28 April 5 – May 5
activities. In some cases they decrease similarly to outdoors,

and in others, they skyrocket. During the snow in Madrid and

3 Madrid, Spain
6 Na g ano, J apan
9 New Sou th W a l es, Aus t ra l ia

the flooding in Nagano, indoor activities increased 55% and

Heavy snow from Storm Filomena
Flooding
Flooding

-69% outdoor activities 
 -61% outdoor activities 
 -26% outdoor activities

56% respectively. January 7 – 15

August 13 – 15
March 18 – 29
 Yearly Challenge Joins (In millions)

150M

Digital

100M

community

thrives 50M

The gradual return of in-person events is no

doubt refreshing for athletes everywhere, and still, 0

the desire for community and connection online
remains at an all-time high. 2018 2019 2020 2021

4X
Wish You Were Here
When we can't share the views in real life, taking a snapshot
is the next best thing. Athletes upped their photography Total club members across Strava grew by 37% on top of a

game this year, and the number of activities with photos Challenge 
 large increase from last year, and we saw twice the participation
grew by 58%. Participation 
 in challenges (which had already doubled from 2019 to 2020).
since 2019
 D i g i ta l C o m m u n i t y T h r i v e s Kudos Between Countries

US

ia
l
A

a
r
t
s
u
A
a

ic
r
f
A
h
t
u
o
J S
a
p
a
n

ain
Sp

Kudos,
m
United Kingdo

worldwide Ca n
A da

Whether it's a wave to a fellow cyclist or a nod to 


a passing runner, the language of encouragement

is understood by athletes everywhere. It can even

B
reach across borders and oceans with a gesture 
 r
a
z
il
as simple as giving kudos.

e
c
n
a
r
F
In a time when every triumph and joyful moment

ia

Ger
is not to be taken for granted, the support athletes

Ind

ma
give one another is a bright reminder that sports

ny
bring our world closer together.
 Run Totals Ride Totals Walk Totals Strava Stats
global global global All Time
Total Distance 3.8 billion km Total Distance 16.0 billion km Total Distance 1.1 billion km Total Athletes 95 million

Total Elevation 34.9 billion m Total Elevation 146.3 billion m Total Elevation 11.4 billion m This Year
Average Distance Per Run 6.2 km Average Distance Per Ride 26.3 km Average Distance Per Walk 4.1 km Activities Uploaded 1.8 billion

Male 6.5 km Male 27.8 km Male 4.2 km New Clubs Created 189 thousand

Female 5.5 km Female 20.5 km Female 4.1 km Kudos Given 9.6 billion

Average Duration Per Run 0:38:48 Average Duration Per Ride 1:17:59 Average Duration Per Walk 0:49:04 Photos Uploaded 604.2 million

Male 0:39:30 Male 1:19:46 Male 0:49:10

Female 0:37:42 Female 1:10:19 Female 0:49:10

UNITED KINGDOM UNITED KINGDOM UNITED KINGDOM

Appendix

Total Distance 615.2 million km Total Distance 1.4 billion km Total Distance 283.1 million km

Total Elevation 5.2 billion m

Total Elevation 13.1 billion m
Total Elevation 3.1 billion m

Average Distance Per Run 5.5 km Average Distance Per Ride 20.9 km
Average Distance Per Walk 4.2 km

Male 6.0 km
Male 22.3 km Male 4.4 km

Female 5.2 km
Female 15.9 km
Female 4.1 km

Average Duration Per Run 0:34:17

Average Duration Per Ride 1:00:14
Average Duration Per Walk 0:52:03

Male 0:33:55
Male 1:00:45
Male 0:53:03

Totals are calculated from public

activities between 10/1/2020 and
Female 0:34:49
Female 0:54:33
Female 0:51:22
9/30/2021.
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2021