Data report · Updated 2026-09

Global Soft Play Opportunity Index 2026

Name: Global Soft Play Opportunity Index 2026
Creator: GetSoftPlay
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Where in the world is it easiest to open a successful indoor playground? We measured demand against live competition in 371 cities across 90 countries, comparing the estimated number of children in each catchment with the number of play venues already serving them. The result is a single, comparable demand-gap score for every market.

countries analysed

371

cities ranked

5,206

venues counted

18.67×

top demand gap

Key finding: The most underserved city for indoor playgrounds in 2026 is Huambo, Angola (18.67× demand gap), followed by Yamoussoukro (13.33×) and Douala (12.76×). At country level, Angola shows the highest median demand gap (13.13×) across its cities.

The 30 most underserved cities for soft play

Higher demand gap = more children per existing venue = more room for a new indoor playground.

#	City	Country	Demand gap	Children / venue	Venues
1	Huambo	Angola	18.67×	168,000	0
2	Yamoussoukro	Ivory Coast	13.33×	120,000	1
3	Douala	Cameroon	12.76×	114,800	2
4	Kigali	Rwanda	10.22×	92,000	2
5	Mombasa	Kenya	9×	81,000	2
6	Yaoundé	Cameroon	8.5×	76,533	3
7	Luanda	Angola	7.58×	68,250	4
8	Algiers	Algeria	6.77×	54,133	3
9	Oran	Algeria	5.37×	42,933	3
10	Kumasi	Ghana	5.2×	46,800	4
11	Brasília	Brazil	4.67×	42,000	3
12	Khulna	Bangladesh	4.67×	42,000	3
13	Kano	Nigeria	4.64×	41,800	5
14	Tangier	Morocco	4.4×	39,600	3
15	Ibadan	Nigeria	4.39×	39,520	5
16	Abuja	Nigeria	3.87×	34,833	6
17	Kampala	Uganda	3.84×	34,571	7
18	Lagos	Nigeria	3.75×	33,778	9
19	Fes	Morocco	3.3×	29,700	4
20	Port Harcourt	Nigeria	3.02×	27,143	7
21	Abidjan	Ivory Coast	2.96×	26,667	9
22	Ndola	Zambia	2.95×	26,517	6
23	Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	2.89×	26,000	10
24	Dodoma	Tanzania	2.81×	25,333	6
25	Dakar	Senegal	2.61×	23,520	10
26	Casablanca	Morocco	2.57×	23,143	7
27	Kisumu	Kenya	2.53×	22,800	6
28	Pokhara	Nepal	2.52×	20,160	5
29	Sfax	Tunisia	2.5×	20,000	5
30	São Paulo	Brazil	2.33×	21,000	8

Countries ranked by demand gap

Median demand gap across all measured cities in each country.

#	Country	Median gap	Cities	Top city
1	Angola	13.13×	2	Huambo (18.67×)
2	Cameroon	10.63×	2	Douala (12.76×)
3	Rwanda	10.22×	1	Kigali (10.22×)
4	Ivory Coast	8.15×	2	Yamoussoukro (13.33×)
5	Algeria	6.07×	2	Algiers (6.77×)
6	Nigeria	3.87×	5	Kano (4.64×)
7	Ghana	3.35×	2	Kumasi (5.2×)
8	Tanzania	2.85×	2	Dar es Salaam (2.89×)
9	Uganda	2.8×	2	Kampala (3.84×)
10	Morocco	2.57×	5	Tangier (4.4×)
11	Kenya	2.53×	3	Mombasa (9×)
12	Zambia	2.51×	2	Ndola (2.95×)
13	Senegal	2.18×	2	Dakar (2.61×)
14	Brazil	2×	5	Brasília (4.67×)
15	Nepal	1.99×	2	Pokhara (2.52×)
16	Tunisia	1.99×	2	Sfax (2.5×)
17	Guatemala	1.73×	1	Guatemala City (1.73×)
18	Uruguay	1.71×	1	Montevideo (1.71×)
19	Paraguay	1.67×	1	Asunción (1.67×)
20	Ethiopia	1.62×	2	Addis Ababa (1.67×)
21	Bolivia	1.53×	2	Santa Cruz (1.56×)
22	Saudi Arabia	1.35×	7	Taif (1.69×)
23	Bangladesh	1.33×	3	Khulna (4.67×)
24	Uzbekistan	1.33×	2	Samarkand (1.5×)
25	Pakistan	1.32×	4	Karachi (1.59×)
26	Colombia	1.26×	4	Bogotá (1.41×)
27	Azerbaijan	1.25×	2	Ganja (1.5×)
28	Kyrgyzstan	1.22×	2	Bishkek (1.28×)
29	South Africa	1.21×	4	Johannesburg (1.75×)
30	Argentina	1.2×	3	Buenos Aires (1.59×)

Methodology

For each city we estimate the number of children in the central catchment from metro population and national child-population shares, then count indoor play and family-entertainment venues within a fixed radius using Google Places. Dividing children by venues gives children per venue; comparing that to a regional benchmark gives the demand gap — a score above 1.0× means the market is underserved relative to its peers. Figures are planning estimates, not forecasts, and competition data reflects Google Places at the time of collection (2026-09).

Use this data

This index is free to cite and share under CC BY 4.0 — please credit “GetSoftPlay” with a link to this page. Download the full dataset: CSV (371 cities).

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