In 2021, survey data on book readers in the United States revealed that ** percent of female respondents stated they had read or listened to at least one book in the previous 12 months. The share of men who had read a book in that time frame was slightly lower at ** percent, but marked an increase from the ** percent recorded two years earlier. Book readers in the U.S. Whilst digital formats have overtaken print in terms of popularity and consumption, many U.S. media consumers still enjoy a good book – though women tend to read more books than men. A 2018 survey showed that 11 percent of U.S. women read ** or more books that year, compared to **** percent of male respondents. Women were also more likely to prefer reading books in paperback format, and much less likely to be fans of comic books. Regardless of adults’ preferences, something which many U.S. readers agree on is the importance of reading to children. According to a report on family reading habits, 58 percent of parents with a child aged between three and five years old said that they read aloud to their child **** to ***** times per week. The frequency of read-aloud time diminished as children grew older, usually because the child could then read independently, though some children eventually swap reading for other activities such as playing video games, watching television, or using social media.

During a survey held in early 2021, it was found that 83 percent of adults aged between 18 and 29 years old had read a book in any format in the previous year, up by two percent from the share who said the same in 2019. The survey results showed that adults within this age category were more likely than older respondents to have read a book within the last twelve months.

Book readers in the U.S.

While it is mostly believed that book reading is a vanishing pastime, particularly among Millennials, surveys among consumers in the U.S. have shown the opposite. The share of book readers in the U.S. has varied from 72 percent to 79 percent between 2011 and 2016.

In regards to age of book readers in the country, a 2016 survey shows about 80 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 to 29 had read at least one book in the previous 12 months, the highest share amongst all age groups. About 73 percent of the respondents aged between 30 to 49 years old said they read at least one book in the last 12 months. The share among respondents between 50 and 64 years old stood at 70 percent, whereas 67 percent of respondents aged 65 plus stated reading book during the time measured. In terms of education level, book readers in the U.S. are more likely to have a college degree, or at least some college education – 86 percent and 81 percent respectively. Women in the U.S. read slightly more than men; 68 percent of male respondents started reading at least one book in the previous 12 months, against 77 percent of female respondents that said the same.

Despite the rise of digital platforms and the rising popularity of e-reading devices such as Kindle, Kobo and others, printed books still remain the most popular book format in the U.S., as 65 percent of Americans stated preference for printed books in 2016. E-books were consumed by 28 percent of respondents in 2016, whereas audio books were listened by 14 percent of the respondents. Millennials accounted for the largest share of printed book readers in the U.S. – 72 percent as of 2016.

According to the results of a survey held in the United States, the share of Americans who had read more than ** books in the last three months stood at **** percent in February 2024. However, **** percent had not any read any books in the three months running up to the survey.

According to a survey held in early 2025, 49.3 percent of children and young people read printed fiction books in their free time, down slightly from 2024. Whilst there remains a clear preference for printed books, digital engagement is generally stable, with 2023 marking the second time that the percentage of eight to 18-year-olds reading fiction on a screen rather than in paper form surpassed 25 percent. This figure dropped slightly in 2025 but remained above the 20 percent mark.

A survey examining book readership in the United States as of February 2021 showed that ** percent of 18-to-29-year-olds had read a print book in the last year. The share was slightly lower among older adults, though more than ** percent of respondents in each age group reported having read at least one printed book in the 12 months leading to the survey.

Young people in Hong Kong have a positive attitude towards reading. A 2023 survey found that **** in every five respondents had a habit of reading books. Overall, respondents read an average of **** printed books and *** digital book in the last six months prior the survey period.

This statistic display the results of a survey concerning readers' motivation for reading books in France in 2023, by gender. It reveals that men and women had different reasons for reading books. Indeed, 33 percent of male readers stated that they read books to deepen their knowledge, whereas 13 percent of women did read books for the same reason. In contrast, the share of women who declared that they read books to enjoy themselves was eight points higher than among men.

A survey held in Great Britain revealed that women are more frequent readers than men, with ** percent of women saying they read ** or more books in the three months running to March 2025, almost three times the share of men who said the same.

As of December 2021, just ** percent of surveyed women in the United States said that they had not read any books in the last year, ten percent less than the share of men who said the same. Both male and female respondents were most likely to have read *** to **** books in the year leading to the survey, though **** percent of women reported having read more than ** books in that time.

In recent years, women in Sweden have, in general, been significantly more likely to read books every week than men, however the weekly book readership of both genders has been on a declining trend since 2008. While just over ** percent of men and about half of the women in Sweden read books on a weekly basis back then, in 2024, these figures dropped to **** percent and **** percent respectively.

A survey held in 2021 found that ** percent of non-Hispanic Black respondents had read at least one book in the previous 12 months, up from ** percent who said the same during the 2019 study. Non-Hispanic White adults were the most likely group to have read a print or digital book in the last year.

In 2023, ** percent of Norwegian respondents stated to have read novels on an average day, making it the most popular category of paper book among readers. The second most popular was acting literature and poetry, accounting for ** percent of respondents.

In early 2021, a survey found that ** percent of adults in the United States with high school education or less had read or listened to a book in the last year. By contrast, almost ** percent of adults who had graduated college or pursued further education after college had engaged with a print, e-book, or audiobook in the 12 months leading to the survey.

The country reported to have read books most regularly in 2017 was China, where a survey among internet users across ** countries revealed that ** percent of respondents read a book every day or most days, and ** percent read at least once a week. Conversely, just ** percent of South Korean respondents were reading books on a daily basis. Other countries with a low share of those aged 15 years or above reading daily included Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands and Mexico.

Age and reading habits

It is surprising how much age can affect reading habits, even on a global level. In Germany, more 12 to 13-year-olds read daily or several times per week than their slightly older peers. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, a survey showed that more teenagers and Millennials said that they would be happy without books than adults aged 34 or older. More than double the percentage of adults in Colombia aged 65 or above read a book every day than those aged between 12 and 25 years.

The number of books read over the past year in the United States was overall higher among adults aged 18 to 34 than older generations, and in Canada the share of children reading books for fun halved with the approach of teenage years. Whilst ** percent of children aged between six and eight years old were reading for pleasure multiple times per week, among ** to 17-year-olds this figure amounted to just ** percent. Meanwhile, the opposite was true of going online for fun, which increased sharply with age and replaced the activity of reading.

German teenage book reading frequency depends on age groups. ** percent of 12- to 13-year-olds read daily or several times a week, according to a recent survey. It appears that teenagers in that age group read the most often. The share of teenagers, who don't read at all, is largest in the age group of 18- to 19- year-olds, with around a 17 percent of them never indulging in reading. Nose stuck in a book? Generally, the number of people reading books daily or several times a week was dropping year after year, while the number of people who never read has been increasing slightly every year. A growing number of people also state that they do not buy books, though those who do still mainly buy paperbacks. This may be attributed to digitalization hitting the book industry and the understandable appeal of e-readers to an increasingly mobile nation. Next chapter The German book market is forecast to experience stable revenue development in the coming years, with the fiction segment generating the most, in comparison to textbooks and nonfiction. Changing consumption habits among readers and the rise of mobile devices and e-readers will continue to influence and change the book market.

Data from a 2019 survey revealed that 65 percent of adults had read a printed book in the last year, down from 67 percent in the previous year. The share of adults who read print books tends to fluctuate annually, but since 2011 the majority of survey respondents have thus far always reported doing so each year.

Print book sales statistics and consumption habits

Printed books are performing well in the United States demonstrating perhaps surprising but positive growth in terms of unit sales. Print book sales in 2018 amounted to 695 million, the highest figure recorded since 2010.

Print books are still by far the most popular book format among U.S. adults, though data shows that there has been a drop in print book readership among adults who did not complete high school. Between 2018 and 2019, the share of adults in this category who had read a print book within the twelve months leading to the survey dropped by ten percent.

On a more positive note, a separate survey revealed that U.S. adults were able to list several key benefits to reading physical books. More than 80 percent of respondents said that reading print books helped them to learn about history, focus their attention, or find out about different cultures, and others found reading physical books useful for reducing their stress levels or enhancing their creativity.

Print also remains by far the most popular format for U.S. Bible readers, and when it comes to comics and graphic novels, print formats make up the vast majority of sales revenue, not just in the United States but across all of North America.

The graph presents data on the format preference among comic book readers worldwide as of June 2013. During a survey carried out by the Comic Book Resources website, more than 75 percent of respondents stated they preferred reading comic books in print.

According to the results of an early 2024 survey, ** percent of all book readers had read between one and five books in 2024. Consumers aged 65 and above were the most frequent readers, with ** percent having read ** books or more in the last year.

Recent data revealed that ** percent of Boomers who responded to a survey held in the United States in March 2020 were more likely to read books as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, compared to ** percent of Gen X respondents.Millennials were the most likely to read more books to keep themselves entertained whilst self-isolating, with ** percent saying that they were more inclined to read books, ***** percent higher than all adults in total.

In 2021, the share of Finnish people reading books remained at the same level of ** percent as in the previous year. Before 2016, over ** percent of the surveyed people in Finland had read books during the previous day. However, the results are not fully comparable with results from 2016 to 2019. Since 2016, figures only include fiction and non-fiction literature, as reading textbooks was excluded from the survey.