Thought this may be of interest, though with a million people believed to do indoor climbing, it is on a different scale to caving:
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/inclusion_in_the_outdoors_a_survey-13471

Indoor climbing isn't real climbing though is it 

^^you are correct 

From the opening blurb:

[2] Of those who regularly climb indoors in the UK, 48% of participants also regularly climb outdoors.

As someone who works in the industry, I can categorically state that  this is not true.

I?ve no idea where they get their figures from but it?s not even close...

It does depend how you define "regular", but a lot of people do just treat it as a more interesting gym.

One of the big problems with surveys like this is that they are by nature self selecting so your sample can never be truly representative.

They have clearly tried to be inclusive but haven't got that bit right. If you are going to ask questions about minority groups then you should at least use the appropriate descriptions.

Oceanrower said:

From the opening blurb:

[2] Of those who regularly climb indoors in the UK, 48% of participants also regularly climb outdoors.

As someone who works in the industry, I can categorically state that  this is not true.

I?ve no idea where they get their figures from but it?s not even close...

Click to expand...

Yeah that sounds waaaay out to me

Will be closer if you're only looking at adults who are there several times per week.

Ref: [2] Natalie Berry, Social Climbers - The Evolving Indoor Climbing Industry, 2018
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/social_climbers_-_the_evolving_indoor_climbing_industry-10953

For what it's worth I completed the questionnaire the best I could. I did struggle when they grouped scrambling (which I enjoy) in with outdoors climbing (for which I have mostly little interest), and so had to say that I preferred hill/mountain walking.

I guess all people can do is fill things in the best they can, and we can see what conclusions they can draw from it.

I did a feel a few of the questions were leading you towards an answer, so it will be interesting to see if the conclusions are skewed towards that.

mikem said:

Will be closer if you're only looking at adults who are there several times per week.

Ref: [2] Natalie Berry, Social Climbers - The Evolving Indoor Climbing Industry, 2018
https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/social_climbers_-_the_evolving_indoor_climbing_industry-10953

Click to expand...

Well, err, yes. So if I only look at people who drink wine, 100% of them are wine drinkers.

I?m not sure you understand how demographics work...

Except we're comparing indoors to outdoors. (Although survey quote should be 41% not 48). From that 2nd article:

Figures from the Association of British Climbing Walls (ABC) demonstrate that around 1 million people currently climb independently indoors in the UK, including about 100,000 regulars.* Of these, 59% are estimated to climb exclusively indoors.

Indeed, 71% of independent climbers - those climbing without an instructor - who frequent the wall fewer than once every two weeks, are estimated to climb exclusively indoors, according to the ABC's research.

*Regulars are those defined as climbing once every two weeks (the Sport England definition of regular).