Global, regional, and national trends and patterns in physical activity research since 1950: a systematic review

Table 1 Physical activity research estimates by world region and income group

	Worldcountries *(n = 217)	Countries withpublications(n = 176)	Number of articles meeting theinclusion criteria (n = 23,860)	Mean publication rate per100,000 inhabitants**	Contribution tothe total (%)
World region ***
Africa	46	32	514	0.09	2.2
Eastern Mediterranean	23	21	524	0.13	2.2
Europe	62	51	8372	1.44	35.1
The Americas and the Caribbean	44	34	10,321	1.43	43.3
South East Asia	11	10	639	0.04	2.7
Western Pacific	31	28	3490	0.23	14.6
Income group +
High income	81	65	19,144	1.88	80.2
Upper middle income	55	47	3534	1.16	14.8
Lower middle income	46	42	915	0.05	3.8
Low income	34	22	267	0.06	1.1

* Database search was conducted for the 217 world countries GoPA! list. Population, world region and income group classifications according to the World Bank. United Kingdom was divided in its 4 countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
**Regional and income group population was estimated as the sum of population average by decades from 1960 to 2019
+ Fisher-Hayter pairwise comparisons test and Chi square test for trend of publication rate by income level p < 0.005
***World Health Organization regions: Africa - AFRO; Eastern Mediterranean EMRO; Europe - EURO; The Americas and the Caribbean - PAHO; South East Asia - SEARO; Western Pacific - WPRO
****World Bank country income classification: High Income - HICs; Upper middle income - UMICs; Lower middle income - LMICs; Low income - LICs

ISSN: 1479-5868