Poll How Many Books Do People Read
Story Highlights
- Average number of books read down to 12.half dozen from 15.6 in 2016
- Percentage reading any books is stable; fewer are reading more than than x
- College graduates show largest decline in number of books read
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans say they read an boilerplate of 12.6 books during the by year, a smaller number than Gallup has measured in whatsoever prior survey dating back to 1990. U.S. adults are reading roughly two or 3 fewer books per year than they did between 2001 and 2016.
Line graph. Tendency in average number of books Americans say they read in the past year. The 12.half-dozen average for 2021 is downwards from 15.six in 2016 and lower than whatsoever other year Gallup asked the question, including 14.2 in 2005, 15.8 in 2002, fourteen.v in 2001, 18.5 in 1999 and 15.3 in 1990.
The results are based on a Dec. 1-16 Gallup poll, which updated a trend question on book reading. The question asks Americans to say how many books they "read, either all or part of the mode through" in the past year. Interviewers are instructed to include all forms of books, including printed books but also electronic books and audiobooks, when inbound the respondent's answer.
The refuse in book reading is mostly a part of how many books readers are reading, as opposed to fewer Americans reading any books. The 17% of U.Southward. adults who say they did non read any books in the past year is similar to the 16% to xviii% measured in 2002 to 2016 surveys, though it is higher than in the 1999 to 2001 polls.
The driblet is fueled by a reject in the percentage of Americans reading more than 10 books in the past year. Currently, 27% study that they read more than x books, downwardly viii percentage points since 2016 and lower than every prior measure by at least iv points.
Line graph. Trend in number of books Americans say they read in the by year. In 2021, 17% of U.S. adults said they read no books in the by yr, most the same percentage as in the prior reading in 2016 and similar to most readings since 1990. At the same fourth dimension, there was a pass up in the number reading more than than 10 books, from 35% in 2016 to 27% in 2021. That decrease was commencement by an increment in the pct reading ane to 5 books, from 34% to xl%. The percentage reading six to 10 books was steady at 15%.
The reasons for the refuse in volume reading are unclear, with Americans peradventure finding other ways to entertain themselves. It is uncertain whether concerns about COVID or COVID-related restrictions are leading to a decline in visits to libraries or bookstores, like to the documented declines in air travel and picture palace omnipresence Gallup found in the aforementioned poll. However, unlike those activities, for reading, Americans tin lodge books or download electronic books or audiobooks without leaving their homes.
College Graduates Show Steep Decline in Book Readership
Americans in nearly major subgroups are reading fewer books now than in the by. This is based on a comparison of the 2021 results to an average of those from the iii polls conducted between 2002 and 2016. During those years, Americans read an boilerplate of 15.2 books a year.
The decline is greater among subgroups that tended to be more avid readers, especially college graduates merely also women and older Americans. College graduates read an average of about half-dozen fewer books in 2021 than they did betwixt 2002 and 2016, 14.six versus 21.1.
In the past, women read close to twice as many books as men did, but the gap has narrowed every bit the boilerplate U.South. woman read 15.7 books last yr, compared with 19.3 betwixt 2002 and 2016. Over the same flow, men'due south readership declined past barely ane volume, to 9.5.
Older adults traditionally read a lot more younger adults did, but that deviation has vanished, with Americans aged 55 and older dropping from an average of 16.vii books read a year to 12, while at that place has been little alter in the average number read by those younger than 55.
Change in Average Number of Books Read, past Subgroup, 2002-2016 versus 2021
| 2002-2016 | 2021 | Alter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults | fifteen.2 | 12.6 | -two.6 |
| Gender | |||
| Men | 10.8 | nine.v | -ane.3 |
| Women | xix.3 | 15.7 | -iii.6 |
| Age | |||
| 18-34 years | thirteen.eight | 13.0 | -0.8 |
| 35-54 years | fourteen.two | 12.5 | -one.vii |
| 55+ years | 16.7 | 12.0 | -iv.vii |
| College graduate | |||
| Yes | 21.ane | 14.6 | -half dozen.5 |
| No | 12.half dozen | eleven.v | -ane.ane |
| Gallup | |||
Once again, reduced book reading amid these groups is more than a part of fewer people reading larger numbers of books than fewer in the subgroup reading at all. Between 2002 and 2016, close to half of higher graduates (48%) read more than ten books in a year. Concluding yr, 35% of college graduates read more 10 books.
Similarly, the percent of older adults reading more than than 10 books brutal from 34% to 24%, while the pct of women reading that many books dropped from 41% to 32%.
Bottom Line
Reading appears to be in decline as a favorite mode for Americans to spend their costless time. In 2020, a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Americans were withal reluctant to leave their homes, Gallup found 6% of U.S. adults naming reading as their favorite way to spend an evening, down from 12% in 2016. Since Gallup starting time asked the question in 1960, at least 10% of Americans had identified reading as their favorite evening activeness in all merely one survey.
The new data on book reading reinforce that the popularity of reading is waning, with Americans reading an boilerplate of three fewer books final year than they did v years ago and had typically read for the past three decades. The pass up is not considering fewer Americans are reading at all -- a percentage that has held steady at 17% -- merely because Americans who do read are reading fewer books. The changes are especially pronounced among the near voracious book readers, namely, college graduates, women and older Americans.
It is unclear from these data if the declines in book readership are occurring because of a lack of interest in books, a lack of time to read books, or perhaps COVID-19-related disruptions in lifestyle activities or access to books. Information technology is also uncertain at this betoken whether the declines in book reading marker a temporary change or a more permanent one.
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Source: https://news.gallup.com/poll/388541/americans-reading-fewer-books-past.aspx
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