We collect data on 15 reasons why people in the 27 EU countries engage in physical activity, from the European Commission's Special Eurobarometer. A graphical output was obtained using classical Principal Component Analysis techniques in order to analyse types of motivation in the EU. Cluster Analysis method were used to define the interrelationship between the data in the 27 countries. People in Sweden, Denmark and Finland were the most highly motivated. High rates were detected in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Estonia, Luxembourg and Latvia while low rates were found in Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia. The lowest motivation rates were in the Netherlands. Regarding the reasons for engaging in exercise (a sport or physical activity), we observed two motivation types. The first group was related to health and physical appearance while the second was associated with social reasons: to be with friends, to better integrate into society, to meet people from other cultures. For citizens of Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania, health and physical appearance carried greater importance than the European average while for citizens of Germany, Finland and Sweden the second motivation type was higher than the European average.
Keywords: Cluster analysis; Europe; Health; Motivational factors; Physical activity; Principal component analysis.