This article was originally published in English
EU citizens have a love-hate relationship with Books: almost half are unable to read a single full-length book in an entire year, while in some countries the average is ten books or more.
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According to a Eurostat survey, almost half of EU citizens (47.2%) have not read a single book in a twelve-month period.
Romanians read the least, with less than a third of the country (29.5%), followed closely by Cyprus (33.1%) and Italy (35.4%).
The EU’s most avid readers are the Irish, with 26% reporting having read ten or more books over a period of a year, followed by Finland (22.7%), Sweden (21 .5%) and France (19.8%).
In absolute terms, the highest proportion of EU citizens who read books (at least one per year) was recorded in Luxembourg (75.2%), followed by Denmark (72.1%) and the Estonia (70.7%).
Younger generations read more than older ones
The survey also shows that younger generations – people aged 16 to 29 – are the most avid readers, with 60% of them reading at least one book per year.
On the other hand, it is the group aged 65 and over which displays the lowest rate (47%).
The gap between men and women is even wider, with 60.5% of women reading books, compared to only 44.5% of men.
Book sales in the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) totaled around €23.9 billion in 2022, according to a study published in 2024 by the Federation of European Publishers.
This represents an increase of 23.6% compared to 2021, although the results were mixed across countries, with the highest turnover figures recorded in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain.
Around 575,000 new titles were released in 2022 alone.
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