taekwondo1-6, Exercise 3: Numbers

Model answer:

Figures the sources give:
- 213 member nations of World Taekwondo as of May 2023: a count of national associations in one federation.
- May 1973 first World Taekwondo Championships: 200 athletes from 17 countries: participants in one event.
- Continental unions: European (1976), Asian (1976), Pan American (1978), African (1979), Oceania recognised in 2005: dates of organisation, not people.
- Olympic athletes per nation: a table of athletes, not practitioners.
No practitioner total or count of schools appears in the articles read.

Why 213 is not a practitioner count: it counts national associations that belong to one federation, so it says how widely that body is organised, not how many people train, and it excludes ITF, ATA and independent groups.

Three questions for any "millions of practitioners" claim: Who counted? In what year? What counted as a practitioner (current students, anyone who ever held a belt, people registered with a federation)? A fourth, optional: which styles or federations does the total include?

Sources: Wikipedia, World Taekwondo; Kukkiwon; Taekwondo at the Summer Olympics.