How many people cycle: what the numbers can and cannot tell you.

Why the figures do not add up

Each body counts something different. A federation counts members, which may or may not include free registrations, leisure riders or officials. A travel survey counts trips and distance, not people. A training scheme counts children trained or places booked. None of the figures below can be added together or compared directly, and every one is the publishing body's own figure for its own date.

The sport's governing bodies

Notes on these figures

• British Cycling. We could not confirm whether the 117,475 figure excludes free "supporter" registrations. A "150,000 members" milestone also circulates; Cycling Industry News reported it from a British Cycling announcement on 7 May 2019, so it is a 2019 figure, not a current one.
• AusCycling: two versions. AusCycling's about page, read on 22 October 2026, gives more than 50,000 members and 450 clubs. An undated search summary attributed to AusCycling's website gave over 54,000 members and 400 clubs. We use the page we could read.
• USA Cycling. A search summary says USA Cycling counts 100,000 or more members, including racers, riders, coaches, officials, mechanics and race directors. Its 2025 annual report was too large for us to open, so that figure could not be confirmed.
• Cycling Canada and others. We did not find current membership figures on the bodies' own pages.

Professional and Olympic racing

For the 2026 season the UCI registered 18 UCI WorldTeams, 16 UCI ProTeams, 14 UCI Women's WorldTeams and 7 UCI Women's ProTeams. At the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games the UCI gives a cycling quota of 514 athletes across five disciplines, split equally between 257 women and 257 men.

Everyday cycling in England: the National Travel Survey

The Department for Transport's National Travel Survey (NTS) gives the most detailed official picture our research found. Its 2023 results were published on 28 August 2024.

The DfT attaches cautions. It says the fall in miles cycled per person should not be read as fewer people cycling. It notes that the survey's cycling sample is small, so the series is volatile, and that its cycling figures include e-cycles ridden on public highways.

The 2023 edition is the latest in that series. On 5 November 2025 the DfT cancelled the planned "Walking and cycling statistics, England: 2024" release, saying the material is now covered only in other publications.

Children trained

The Bikeability Trust reported a record 560,471 children in England taking Bikeability from April 2023 to March 2024 (published 22 July 2024), and 500,000 training places booked in England in 2024-25 (published 6 August 2025). The first counts children who took part and the second counts places booked, so they are not like for like. The learning to ride page has the detail.

What is missing

Our research collected official participation statistics only for England. Official national figures for the United States, Canada and Australia were not collected, so none are given here. Road casualty figures belong to the safety section.