The number of Spaniards who read books continues to grow slightly in recent years. After the increase experienced in 2020 during the confinement, a figure that was consolidated in 2021, reading habits among the Spanish population continue to be good, especially among the youngest. And it is that minors between the ages of 10 and 14 and between 15 and 18 register the highest percentages of frequent readers of the total population. The question asked if they had read "at least once a term."
This is how it emerges from the Barometer of Reading Habits and Book Purchase in Spain 2022, presented this afternoon by the Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta, and prepared by the Federation of Publishers Guilds of Spain (FGEE) with the sponsorship of CEDRO . During his appearance, Iceta has been opposed to the "cancellation" of literary works, as in the case of Roald Dahl in the United Kingdom, and has urged "to be careful and not judge with today's eyes."
The percentage of the Spanish population over 14 years of age that read a book in the past year, either for leisure or for work, reached 68.4%. If we refer only to those who read for leisure in their spare time, the percentage stands at 64.8%, a slightly higher figure than last year, a figure that increases to 66.2% if we add to those people who '"only read comics in their spare time.
Despite the positive data, the report also reflects that reading drops dramatically from the age of 65 and there is still a significant number of Spaniards who never or almost never read (35.2%). Spaniards who do not have a reading habit argue that the lack of free time (44%) is their main reason for not reading books. 30.6% indicate that they prefer to use their free time in other entertainment that is not reading, such as walking, resting or watching series or movies.
"Little by little, the global reading figures in Spain are getting closer to the European averages. It is a reality that there are age groups and geographical areas in which they are fully comparable with the countries around us. However, we maintain a third of the population that does not have reading among their activities. It is everyone's task to work to reduce these figures, at the same time that we also improve the percentages of frequent readers with figures significantly higher than 50 percent," explains Daniel Fernández, president of the Federation of Publishers Guilds of Spain.
Likewise, the Barometer has especially analyzed the reading rates in Spain in the last ten years. Since 2012, the free-time reading index has grown by 5.7 percentage points (from 57.9% to 64.8%). If we look only at frequent readers, those who read at least once a week, it remained the same in 2022, with 52.5% of the population, but it has grown 5.3 percentage points in the last ten years. Occasional readers have practically remained the same throughout these years (0.4 percentage points).
By age, the section with the largest reading population is between 14 and 24 years old (74.2%). 85.6% of minors between 10 and 14 years old read frequently (78.2%) or occasionally (7.4%) in their spare time. Among young people between 15 and 18 years old, the percentage reaches 79.2% (67.7% frequent readers and 12.2% occasional). Likewise, children's reading remains "in high values" and the proportion of children who read non-text books is growing slightly. However, the weekly time dedicated to reading to the little ones decreased slightly.
Women are considerably more readers than men, 69.9% compared to 59.5%. A difference by gender that has remained stable over the last few years. Regarding study levels, 86.5% of university students read in their spare time.
In practically all the Autonomous Communities, the number of free-time readers has either grown or has remained stable with respect to the figures for 2021. The national average experiences growth, but inequality continues to exist between territories. At the top of the list are Madrid (74.2%), Catalonia (68.7%), Navarra (68.2%) and the Basque Country (68.2%), as happened last year. Castilla-La Mancha (59.6%), Canarias (59.1%) and Extremadura (55.1%) repeat in the last places. “We must continue making an effort to gradually reduce these imbalances reflected in the Barometer. For some years in the Federation we have been advocating for a Social Pact for books and reading that not only involves political parties but also society as a whole. We have to think that the societies with the most readers are those that enjoy better economic and democratic health, since books contribute to having a more critical society”, points out Fernández.
The report makes it clear that reading in digital format remains stable, with 29.5% of the population aged 14 or over reading books in digital format. The number of buyers of non-text books also increased for yet another year and bookstores once again remained the main channel for purchasing books.
