Without exaggeration, but the good news about reading books in Spain continues. The strong increase experienced by the habit of reading during the first year of the pandemic has not only been consolidated but is continuing a small upward momentum. The percentage of readers in free time jumped from 62.2% to 64% from 2019 to 2020, confinement and restrictions through. The rate rose to 64.4% in 2021 and was 64.8% in 2022, the course to which the Barometer of Reading Habits and Book Purchases presented this Monday by the Federation of Publishers Guilds of Spain (FGEE) corresponds. In a decade, since 2012, the index has grown 5.7 points, from 59.1% to the aforementioned 64.8% (52.5% are daily or weekly readers and 12.3% are monthly or quarterly readers). .
The negative reverse is that 35.2% of Spaniards never or almost never read books. It is a little more than a third of the population. In 2012, 40.9% were those who did not read a book or shot.
“Little by little, the overall reading figures in Spain are getting closer to the European averages,” he said. Daniel Fernández, president of the FGEE-. It is a reality that there are age groups and geographical areas in which they are fully comparable with the countries around us”.
marked differences
The barometer detects marked differences between autonomous communities. Madrid, with 74.2% of the population reading for leisure, leads the ranking. Catalonia (68.7%), Navarra and the Basque Country (68.2%), La Rioja (66.7%) and Aragón (65%) are also above the Spanish average. The autonomies where there are fewer readers are Castilla-La Mancha (59.6%), Canarias (59.1%) and Extremadura (55.1%).
Women are notably more readers than men: 69.9% compared to 59.5%. This ten point difference is the same as it was a decade ago. A classic.
The abyss marked by the level of studies also remains unchanged. There are 47.5 points between the percentage of reading university students (86.5%) and that of those who have at most primary education (39%). In 2012 the super-step was 47.8 points (82.1% vs. 34.3%). Another classic, this one directly related to economic inequality.
“We must continue making an effort to reduce the imbalances reflected in the barometer – claimed Fernández -. For a few years the FGEE has advocated 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 most reading societies are those that enjoy better economic and democratic health, since books contribute to having a more critical society”.
bookstores vs internet
The report reflects that the age group with the most readers is the one between 14 and 24 years old (74.2%), followed by 45 to 64 (69.2%). The rate is 65.1% between 25 and 44 years and 51.9% from 65.
The traditional bookstore is the main purchase channel of non-text books (69.9%), followed by the Internet (44%) and bookstore chains (33.3%). The Internet is the favorite shopping channel among young people between the ages of 25 and 30. 52.8% of the population purchased at least one book in 2022, 12.5 points more than a decade ago.
Related news
Digital reading remains stable, with 29.5% of the population aged 14 or over reading books in digital format. Regarding audiobooks, in 2022 their number of users stabilized and 5.4% of the population listened to audiobooks at least once a quarter.
26.2% of Spaniards visited a library. Although it is one point more than in 2021, it is still far from the 32% that they did in 2019, the year before the pandemic.