Open water swimming has reached millions of adults in England, while broader coastal and inland-water use creates important safety considerations. The latest Sport England estimate counted 4,297,500 adult open-water swimmers in England in November 2024–25, equal to 9.0% of adults. UK safety data, cold-water research and Olympic results add different perspectives, but they measure different populations and should not be treated as one combined dataset.
Contents
- Participation in England
- Regular participation and outdoor-swimmer trends
- The UK accidental-fatality profile
- Long-term water-fatality context
- Exposure and safety awareness
- Cold-water response measurements
- Elite 10 km race benchmarks
Participation in England
Sport England’s Active Lives measure counts adults who took part in open-water swimming at least once during the previous year. These are England-specific estimates, and the annual figures show how participation changed across the series.
| Survey period | Estimated adult participants | Share of survey population |
|---|---|---|
| November 2017–18 | 4,123,700 | 9.2% |
| November 2018–19 | 4,120,800 | 9.1% |
| November 2019–20 | 3,766,500 | 8.3% |
| November 2020–21 | 2,677,000 | 5.9% |
| November 2021–22 | 3,587,000 | 7.8% |
| November 2022–23 | 4,374,400 | 9.4% |
| November 2023–24 | 4,158,200 | 8.8% |
| November 2024–25 | 4,297,500 | 9.0% |
Source: Sport England, “Participation in the last year - yes or no by Swimming - Open water”.
The 2022–23 estimate was the highest population figure shown in the dashboard series, at 4,374,400 participants and 9.4% of the survey population. The lowest figure from 2017–18 onward was 2,677,000 in 2020–21, or 5.9%. The later estimate of 4,297,500 in 2024–25 was below the 2022–23 peak but above every other figure in the series except that peak.
The survey’s latest open-water estimate was based on 132,388 respondents in November 2024–25. The corresponding respondent counts were 126,505 in 2022–23, 130,716 in 2023–24 and 123,261 in 2020–21. Because the measure covers at least one outing in the previous year, it describes annual reach rather than how often each swimmer trains or competes.
Regular participation and outdoor-swimmer trends
The annual participation measure sits alongside a more specific regular-participation trend. Swim England reported that regular open-water swimming in England rose from about 266,000 adults in 2016–17 to 543,000 in 2023–24. Those figures describe regular participants and therefore should not be compared directly with the Active Lives totals, which include anyone taking part at least once in the previous year.
Swim England also reported that more than 4 million UK adults were swimming in lakes, rivers or the sea each year in 2023–24. This is a UK-wide statement, whereas the regular-participation figures above are England-specific.
The profile of outdoor swimmers changed in one survey comparison. Women represented 50% of respondents to an outdoor-swimmer survey in 2017, rising to 65% in 2020. In the same 2020 survey, 70% of respondents said they were more concerned about water pollution.
Sources: Swim England, “Swim England welcomes Reconomics report” and Swim England, “New report reveals outdoor swimming helps boost people’s mental health”.
The survey percentages describe their stated survey populations, not all outdoor swimmers. They are useful for understanding reported respondent characteristics and concerns, but they do not establish the composition of the entire UK swimming population.
The UK accidental-fatality profile
The National Water Safety Forum recorded 193 confirmed accidental water-related fatalities in the UK in 2024. A further 206 UK water-related cases had an unknown cause when the report was released. The confirmed total is therefore not an all-case total, and it should not be read as a count of deaths during intentional open-water swimming alone.
Inland waterways accounted for 61% of confirmed accidental drowning deaths in the UK in 2024. Males accounted for 84% of confirmed accidental water-related fatalities. By nation, England recorded 136 of the 193 confirmed fatalities, Scotland 33, Wales 18 and Northern Ireland 6.
The monthly profile included 28 confirmed accidental water-related fatalities in May 2024, 21 in July and 25 in August. These monthly figures are counts of confirmed accidental water-related fatalities, not participation rates or risks per swimmer.
Source: National Water Safety Forum, “193 accidental water-related fatalities in 2024”.
The geography and definitions matter for swimmers using local venues. A UK-wide fatality count includes inland and coastal settings, and the report’s accidental water-related category includes incidents that were not necessarily connected to deliberate swimming. The figures can frame the safety environment, but they cannot provide a swimmer-specific probability of an incident.
Long-term water-fatality context
The wider WAID series counts overall UK water-related fatalities from all recorded causes. It recorded 597 fatalities in 2024. For comparison, the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy baseline was 676 overall water-related fatalities from a 2010–13 dataset, while an enhanced WAID review gave an average of 636 overall UK water-related fatalities per year for 2019–23.
| Reference period | Overall UK water-related fatalities |
|---|---|
| Strategy baseline, 2010–13 dataset | 676 |
| 2019–23 enhanced WAID average | 636 per year |
| 2020 | 644 |
| 2021 | 635 |
| 2022 | 605 |
| 2023 | 662 |
| 2024 | 597 |
Source: National Water Safety Forum, WAID UK 2024 Summary.
The 2024 total is lower than the 2023 figure of 662 and the 2019–23 enhanced-review average of 636. The enhanced 2019–23 data uses a revised review approach and should not be mixed directly with earlier releases as though every number came from an identical series. These are overall water-related totals, not open-water swimming fatality totals.
Exposure and safety awareness
Coastal exposure extends well beyond people who enter the water to swim. In an RNLI survey of UK adults aged 16–64, 83% expected to visit the coast in summer 2024 and 40% expected to visit three or more times. UK beach leisure time was reported as 28% higher in 2024 than three years earlier.
The same safety-awareness information found that 10% of surveyed people said they did not often think about potential dangers associated with the water, while 36% said they did not know what to do if they got into trouble in the water. The RNLI estimated that 56 million people would visit the UK coast in summer 2024; this was a forecast, not a completed count.
For additional context, the UK recorded 226 accidental drowning deaths across inland and coastal locations in 2022. Forty percent of the people who died in those accidental drownings had no intention of entering the water. That statistic highlights why open-water safety is relevant to walkers, spectators and other water users as well as swimmers.
Source: RNLI, “RNLI launches Float to Live campaign ahead of the half term holiday”.
Cold-water response measurements
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s 2019 safety analysis defines the cold-water threshold discussed in its analysis as water below 15°C. Its timing descriptions show why the first moments after an unexpected immersion matter.
Cold shock begins immediately after immersion and peaks within about 30 seconds. The cold-shock phase is described as lasting about 2–3 minutes. Cold incapacitation is described as usually occurring within 2–15 minutes of entering cold water.
These are response timings from a safety analysis, not training targets or a prediction for every swimmer. The report concerns cold-water response and should not be used to infer a personal survival time, safe exposure duration or race pace. Water temperature, conditions and individual circumstances remain important, but no additional values are supplied here.
Source: MAIB Report 8/2019, “Fram of Shieldaig - Very Serious Marine Casualty”.
Elite 10 km race benchmarks
The Paris 2024 Olympic open-water swimming course covered 10 km and used six laps of 1.67 km. The results are elite Olympic race benchmarks, not recreational swimmer targets.
| Paris 2024 event | Result |
|---|---|
| Women’s 10 km gold, 8 August 2024 | 2:03:24.20 |
| Women’s 10 km silver, 8 August 2024 | 2:03:39.70 |
| Women’s 10 km bronze, 8 August 2024 | 2:03:42.80 |
| Men’s 10 km gold, 9 August 2024 | 1:50:52.70 |
The fastest recorded women’s split was 5:54.80 at 0.8 km, 19:02.20 at 1.5 km and 1:01:47.20 at 4.9 km. The fastest recorded men’s splits included 5:30.10 at 0.8 km and 54:08.90 at 4.9 km. Split points are race measurements at the stated distances, not equivalent to final finishing times.
Source: World Aquatics, “Paris 2024 Open Water Swimming Results Report”.