People over 65 are reading more and more. It is one of the conclusions that emerge from the Barometer of Reading and Book Purchasing Habits in Spain 2023, prepared by Conecta for the Federation of Editors' Guilds of Spain (FGEE), with the sponsorship of CEDRO and in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture.
Although the section with the largest reading population is between 14 and 24 years old (74.0%), those between 25 and 64 years old and 65 years old and older have reader percentages of 65.8 % and 53.7% respectively. The section of the population over 65 years of age is the one that has shown the greatest constant growth in the reading habit since 2012, with an increase of 15.5%.
For ages between 14 and 24, in 2012 the percentage of readers was 70.2%, while in 2023 it was 74%, an increase of 3.8 percentage points. For its part, in the group between 25 and 64 years old, the percentage in 2012 was 61.8%, which has increased to 65.8% in 2023 (4% more).
But, in the case of those over 65 years of age, the percentage of readers in 2012 was 38.2%, which has been increasing constantly year after year, until reaching 53.7% in 2023, with an increase of 15 ,5 %. In conclusion, the population group aged 65 and over is the one that has shown the most increase in the habit of reading.
Furthermore, this age group of over 65 years is the one in which the least difference in reading habits occurs between men and women: 56.2% of women are regular readers and 50.3% of men are regular readers. , with a difference of 5.9%, much lower than that seen in the rest of the sections.
It so happens that lack of time is the argument most defended by the Spanish population to explain why they do not read books regularly (44.3% attribute it to this reason). The figure increases to 54.4% in the population between 55 and 64 years old. The truth is that reading is a habit that brings notable benefits at any age, including the elderly population.
