Where People Walk the Most—and Why It Matters

What step counts reveal about health, cities, and global lifestyles.

Author

Philip Saparov
December 08, 2025

In partnership with

Greetings, sharp-eyed seeker of global truths!

A single step may seem small—until you multiply it across a lifetime. Some nations average over 6,000 a day. Others? Barely half that. But these steps don’t just move bodies—they reveal how people live, how long they live, and what their streets silently say about society.

This edition? A global walk through movement, health, and the surprising patterns hiding in our daily strides.

Let’s step in.

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If walking were an Olympic sport, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong would take gold. Averaging nearly 7,000 steps/day, its residents move constantly through one of the world’s most vertical and walkable cities—dense, efficient, and transit-powered.

🇨🇳 China follows, where public transport and compact urban zones encourage high movement, especially in megacities like Shanghai and Shenzhen.

🇺🇦 Ukraine, despite economic hurdles, maintains high mobility thanks to limited car ownership and a strong pedestrian culture in its urban areas.

🧭 Did you know? People in Hong Kong take 60% more daily steps than Americans. That’s over 12 million extra steps per person, per year.

Some nations are trading footsteps for steering wheels. In countries like 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia, 🇮🇩 Indonesia, and 🇺🇸 United States, step counts drop to 3,500–4,000 per day.

Why? A few culprits:

  • Extreme heat (deserts or monsoons)

  • Sprawling suburbs

  • Car-first infrastructure

In 🇺🇸 America, the average suburban resident can barely walk to a grocery store—resulting in lower daily steps and higher obesity rates.

🔍 Striking fact: The average American walks less per day than the average 🇨🇭 Swiss citizen walks before lunch.

Around the world, data shows a compelling connection: more steps = longer life.

The famed Blue Zones—like 🇯🇵 Okinawa and 🇮🇹 Sardinia—aren’t fitness-obsessed. They just move naturally, often on foot, through hilly villages, gardens, and community spaces.

In contrast, sedentary nations face a rise in lifestyle diseases—especially heart disease and type 2 diabetes—reducing life expectancy despite modern healthcare.

📈 Longevity lever: Walking just 1,000 more steps/day reduces your early mortality risk by 15%. Think of it as compounding interest—for your health.

This dual graph shows how daily movement and longevity align. Countries with higher step counts—such as Hong Kong and Japan—also tend to enjoy longer average lifespans, hinting at the power of walkable lifestyles.

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Walking patterns don’t always follow GDP.

In lower-income countries like 🇺🇬 Uganda or 🇳🇵 Nepal, people walk out of necessity—due to lower vehicle access and informal economies. Step counts are high, but healthcare access is often limited.

In wealthy, walk-forward countries like 🇸🇪 Sweden and 🇳🇴 Norway, walking is a choice enabled by smart design: clean sidewalks, integrated transit, and a cultural emphasis on outdoor life.

🚘 Meanwhile, in middle-income nations like 🇲🇽 Mexico, rapid motorization has pushed step counts down, while obesity rates and lifestyle disease climb.

🧠 Perspective shift: Seniors in 🇳🇱 the Netherlands walk more than teenagers in 🇺🇸 America—and live, on average, four years longer.

Across the globe, men consistently walk more than women. But it’s not about fitness levels—it’s about access.

In countries like 🇵🇰 Pakistan and 🇮🇳 India, cultural norms and safety concerns limit women's mobility outside the home. Even in the West, women often work sedentary jobs and handle caregiving roles that don’t involve much movement.

However, in egalitarian societies like 🇫🇮 Finland and 🇨🇭 Switzerland, the gap is minimal—thanks to safe, accessible public spaces and equal work-life integration.

👣 Empowering insight: Urban design that prioritizes safe, well-lit walking paths for women can shift public health outcomes for generations.

Step counters are everywhere—but are we really moving more?

Global averages dropped sharply during the pandemic and have not fully recovered. Remote work, app-based food delivery, and screen addiction have kept people sitting.

But forward-thinking cities are pushing back:

  • 🇫🇷 Paris is eliminating 15,000 parking spots to expand sidewalks and bike lanes.

  • 🇨🇴 Bogotá hosts "Ciclovía" every Sunday, opening city roads to cyclists and walkers.

🌍 Trend to track: Without intervention, global average step counts could fall 15% by 2030, fueling a rise in preventable disease.

Thinking of moving—or just walking more? Geography matters.

The most walkable places in the world—like 🇦🇹 Vienna, 🇦🇺 Melbourne, or 🇩🇰 Copenhagen—make it easy to move. They feature:

  • Short distances between destinations

  • Robust transit

  • Parks and footpaths

  • Culture that rewards outdoor life

In these cities, walking isn’t a chore—it’s a default. And over a lifetime, that adds up to profound differences in health and happiness.

💡 Pro tip: Before your next move or vacation, check Walk Score (walkscore.com) to see how your destination stacks up.

A step is never just a step. It's a vote—for vitality, for connection, for life itself. Around the world, walking patterns reveal far more than motion—they expose what a society values.

Design for movement, and you design for health. Encourage steps, and you shape futures.

So go ahead—take a walk. Your body, your mind, and maybe even your country will be better for it.

Warm regards,

Shane Fulmer
Founder, WorldPopulationReview.com

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