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.

In early 2021, a survey found that 59 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 90 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.

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.

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.

According to a survey conducted in South Korea in 2023, around **** percent of respondents stated that they had read an e-book in the previous year. This represents a slight increase from the previous year. The rate of reading e-books had dropped in 2015, but has been regaining some popularity since then.

The average daily time spent reading by individuals in the United States in 2023 amounted to **** hours, or **** minutes. According to the study, adults over the age of ** were the most avid readers, spending over ** minutes reading each day. Meanwhile, those aged between 15 and 19 years read for less than **** minutes per day on average. Reading and COVID-19 Daily time reading increased among most consumers between 2019 and 2020, part of which could be linked to the unprecedented increases in media consumption during COVID-19 shutdowns. The mean annual expenditure on books per consumer unit also increased year over year, along with spending on digital book readers. Book reading habits A 2020 survey on preferred book formats found that ** percent of U.S. adults favored print books over e-books or audiobooks. However, engagement with digital books is growing. Figures from an annual study on book consumption revealed that the share of adults who reported reading an audiobook in the last year almost doubled between 2011 and 2019, and e-book readership also grew overall during that period.

During a survey conducted among literate adults in urban Mexico in February 2024, approximately 41.8 percent of respondents said they read books. In 2015, the share stood above 50 percent. Meanwhile, the average annual number of books read by a literate adult in Mexico peaked at nearly four in 2022 and fell to 3.2 in the latest measured period.

When it comes to share of Americans who read a daily newspaper in the past 2 weeks, ** percent of 18 - 29 year olds do so in the U.S. This is according to exclusive insights from the Consumer Insights Global survey which shows that ** percent of 30 - 49 year old consumers also fall into this category.Statista Consumer Insights offer you all results of our exclusive Statista surveys, based on more than ********* interviews.

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.

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.

A survey held in early 2021 revealed that 42 percent of adults aged between 18 and 29 years old had read an e-book in the last we months, making respondents in this age group the most likely to have done so. By contrast, just 18 percent of adults aged 65 or above had read an e-book in the same time period.

The share of adults who have read an e-book in the last 12 months in the United States dropped to 25 percent in 2019. E-book consumption tends to fluctuate, growing significantly between 2011 and 2014 and holding until 2016, but dropping slightly since. E-books are more popular than audiobooks among adults in all age categories, but print is the most popular format by a large margin.

A survey conducted in Great Britain in January 2024 found that 41 percent of adults were read story books often as a child, and over 30 percent were read to sometimes. Only eight percent said that they had not been read to when young, although results varied according to gender, age, and social class.

The share of white U.S. adults who had not read a book in the last 12 months in the United States amounted to just ** percent in 2021, whereas ** percent of Black adults said that they had not read a book during that time period. Hispanic adults were the least likely to have read a print book, e-book, or audiobook in the year running the February 2021 survey, with ** percent saying that they had not done so.

During a survey conducted among literate adults in urban Mexico in February 2024, approximately 69.6 percent of respondents said they read books, magazines, newspapers, comics, web pages, forums, or blogs. In 2015, the share stood above 84 percent. When it comes to reading preferences in Mexico in 2024, female readers consumed books the most, while male readers consumed websites the most.

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.

A survey held in 2021 found that 74 percent of non-Hispanic Black respondents had read at least one book in the previous 12 months, up from 65 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.

Reading books remains a popular pastime for U.S. adults, with ** percent of respondents to a 2021 survey saying that they had read a book in any format within the last year. Despite online media formats now being the preferred option for many consumers when it comes to television, music, and gaming, print books are by far the most popular format among readers in the United States. Whilst almost double the share of adults now read audiobooks compared to 2011, only ** percent claimed to have read an audiobook in the last year compared to ** percent who said that they had read a print book. Book sales in the United States In 2020, bookstore sales in the United States amounted to **** billion U.S. dollars. Sales in 2019 and 2020 were the lowest recorded since the early *****, and the combined effect of the coronavirus outbreak, along with the growing appeal of online purchasing, will likely mean that bookstore sales will continue to drop. Bookstores tend to see most success in August, December, and January, and sales revenue often surpasses *********** U.S. dollars in those months each year. That said, monthly retail sales of bookstores in the U.S. are notably lower overall than in previous years and were particularly poor in spring 2020 as a result of national shutdowns to stem the spread of COVID-19. Influence of COVID-19 on reading habits The coronavirus pandemic led to increased media consumption in general, but not only among avid video and music streaming fans. Data from a survey in March 2020 revealed that ** percent of Millennials read more books due to the COVID-19 outbreak, making consumers in this group the most likely to have done so compared to ** percent of the total survey sample. Meanwhile, ** percent of Boomers said that their reading habits had not changed.

During a study carried out among literate adults in urban Mexico in February 2024, about ** percent of female respondents said they read books. Among men, the share stood at ** percent. While around ** percent of male interviewees reported reading newspapers, among women, the share stood at close to ** percent.

A survey held in the United States in early 2021 found that ** percent of all participants had not read any books in the twelve months running to the survey, whereas ** percent of adults reported having read more than ** print, audio, or e-books in the last year. The share of respondents who had read ** books or more grew consistently between 2018 and 2021.