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Average number of books read per year by country

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Publish date: Dec 21, 2020
Last updated: Jul 27, 2022
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World map with average reading by country.
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Number of books read in each country, per-capita.
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Mean number of books read per year is indicated for each country, among adults (including non-readers). The figures are presented based on data provided by research centers or government institutions in charge of culture and education in the respective country. Sources are indicated in the endnotes.

CountryAnual average
Argentina 11,6
Brazil 22,5
Canada 317
Chile 45,3
Colombia 51,9
Estonia 66
France 717
Mexico 81,7
Peru 93,3
Portugal 108,5
South Korea 1111
Spain 129,9
United States 1312
Venezuela 142

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Endnotes:

  1. Argentina: Sistema de información cultural de la Argentina. 2017. “Encuesta Nacional de Consumos Culturales 2017: Libros”. https://encuestadeconsumo.sinca.gob.ar/indicadores/libros/cantidad-de-libros-le%C3%ADdos-en-el-a%C3%B1o/2 ↩︎

  2. Brazil: Instituto Pró-Livro - IBOPE. 2019. “A 5ª edição da Retratos da Leitura no Brasil: O leitor de livros”. https://www.prolivro.org.br/5a-edicao-de-retratos-da-leitura-no-brasil-2/a-pesquisa-5a-edicao/ ↩︎

  3. Canada: Department of Canadian Heritage. Booknet Canada. 2005. “Reading and Buying Books for Pleasure: 2005 National Survey”. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH44-61-2005E.pdf ↩︎

  4. Chile: Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes (CNCA). 2014. “Encuesta de Comportamiento Lector 2014”. http://plandelectura.gob.cl/recursos/encuesta-de-comportamiento-lector-2014/ ↩︎

  5. Colombia: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE). 2020. “Encuesta de consumo cultural (ECC). Anexos 12 años y más: Lectura, Cuadro 19”. https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/cultura/consumo-cultural ↩︎

  6. Estonia: Statistics Estonia. 2010. “Residents of Estonia continuously take a big interest in book reading”. https://www.stat.ee/en/uudised/news-release-2010-167 ↩︎

  7. France: Ipsos pour le Centre National du livre. 2019. “Les Français et la lecture en 2019: Étude complète. p. 22”. https://centrenationaldulivre.fr/donnees-cles/les-francais-et-la-lecture-en-2019 ↩︎

  8. Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). 2022. “Módulo sobre Lectura (MOLEC)”. https://www.inegi.org.mx/programas/molec/#Documentacion [We have calculated the mean number of books read per capita (including non-readers) based on the microdata provided.] ↩︎

  9. Peru: Instituto de Opinión Pública de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (IOP-PUCP) . 2015. “Boletín N° 137: Libros y hábitos de lectura. p. 7”. https://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/bitstream/handle/123456789/160984/BoletinIOP_PUCP_137.pdf ↩︎

  10. Portugal: Centro Regional para el Fomento el Libro en América Latina y el Caribe (CERLAC). 2012. “Comportamiento lector y hábitos de lectura. p. 14”. https://cerlalc.org/publicaciones/comportamiento-lector-y-habitos-de-lectura-una-comparacion-de-resultados-en-algunos-paises-de-america-latina/ ↩︎

  11. South Korea: China Daily. 2011. “Reading rate falling in China”. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-04/19/content_16423992.htm ↩︎

  12. Spain: Federación de Gremios de Editores de España. 2021. “Hábitos de Lectura y Compra de Libros Año 2021”. https://www.federacioneditores.org/documentos.php ↩︎

  13. United States: Pew Research Center. 2016. “Book Reading 2016: Appendix A”. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/09/01/book-reading-2016/pi_2016-09-01_book-reading_a-02/ ↩︎

  14. Venezuela: Instituto Autónomo Centro Nacional del libro (CENAL). 2012. “Encuesta del Comportamiento Lector, Acceso al Libro y la Lectura en Venezuela, año 2012. p. 41”. appendix/Venezuela-2012.pdf ↩︎


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