In Madrid, only about 8 percent of Spaniards say they read on their mobile phones, according to FGEE’s new report on the Spanish market in 2023. August 31, 2023.Image – Getty iStockPhoto: Ismael San Jose
Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter Anderson
WThe first reading rate increased by 5 points from 2012 and has remained stable since the COVID-19 pandemic era. Spain’s book publishing industry submitted a strong financial report for his 2023. Dear readers. ” Of course, many of our readers will remember that the 2022 Guest of Honor Spain at the Frankfurter Buchmesse was very successful in demonstrating the literacy of the Spanish people.
provided to Publishing perspective by Spanish Gremios Editorial Federation According to (Spanish Federation of Publishers Guilds, FGEE), this new report, prepared again for the Federation by Conecta under the auspices of CEDRO and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Madrid, contains the following: It is guided by a valuable set of key findings.
- “After increasing significantly during the pandemic, the proportion of readers has stabilized. Since 2012, the proportion of people who read in their free time has increased by 5 percentage points (from 59.1 percent to 64.1 percent).”
- “Last year, there was a minimal decrease in the proportion of people who read in their free time, from 64.8 percent to 64.1 percent.” We believe this is a small enough change that organizations don’t need to worry.
- “Since 2012, the proportion of frequent readers, or those who read at least weekly, has increased by 4.8 percentage points to 52 percent.”
- The “significant proportion of people who do not read” mentioned above corresponds to “35.9 percent of Spaniards who say they have never or rarely read a book.”
- In its 2023 edition, this Spanish market ‘barometer’ detected differences in reading rates between different ‘autonomous communities’ in the country, between women and men, and between different age groups. However, since 2012, the percentage of readers 65 and older has increased by more than 15 percentage points (53.7 percent). ” Moreover, this is the age group with the smallest difference in readership by gender.
- “Lack of time continues to be the main reason for not reading, claimed by an average of 4 in 10 respondents.”
- 31 percent said they would rather spend their time pursuing other forms of entertainment. ” This is another sign of the level of competition that exists in reading industries and communities in so many global markets today.
- “Underage reading remains in the majority,” the report states. In 76.3% of households with children under the age of 6, parents read to their young children.
- “86 percent of boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 9 report reading in their free time.”
- Engagement rates with digital reading formats have remained largely unchanged from past years, study authors said. Since 2018, little has changed, with around 30% of the population reading in digital format.
- “Percentage of audiobook users. In contrast, 6.9 percent of the population listens to people over the age of 14, a threefold increase.”
- However, another related finding shows that the proportion of people who pay for e-books decreased slightly compared to 2022 (38.3 percent), but increased by 6.3 percent compared to 2012 .
- The study also identified piracy and conscious piracy. Approximately 64.6 percent of respondents said they download books in digital format for free, which is almost 10 percent more than in 2019. The study authors reveal: Her 67.7 percent of digital readers said: know When a download is illegal, it indicates that conscious copyright infringement is at issue and that the consumer’s innocence has often not been proven.
higher level observation
Graph showing how often respondents read books in their free time in the new FGEE survey for the Spanish market in 2023. Image: FGEE
Due to the “digital acceleration” and the increasing intensity of the pandemic period, the proportion of Spaniards surveyed who say they read books has remained very stable at around 68%.
Daniel Fernandez
Commenting on the new findings, the federation’s president, Daniel Fernandes, said: “The 2023 ‘Barometer’ recorded more than 5 points, indicating the consolidation of the significant increase experienced during the pandemic, especially during the confinement period.”
“Since then, the index has shown some stability. One fact continues to stand out from the study’s analysis: 35.9 percent of those surveyed either never read books or rarely read books. I claim not.
“This is why we believe we need to redouble our efforts to reduce these numbers, and one in three Spaniards does not include reading among their hobbies. We believe that this is no longer constant. At the same time, the proportion of people who read frequently has increased.”
Age and gender differences among Spanish readers
Total number of books read by Spaniards by age surveyed in 2023. Image: FGEE
Of the age-specific data collected for the 2023 study on the Spanish market, the section with the highest number of readers was 14-24 years old (74.0 percent). The 25 to 64 and over 65 age groups recorded 65.8 percent and 53.7 percent, respectively.
When asked why they don’t read more books, most Spaniards say they don’t have time, then they prefer other pastimes, then they’re not interested in books, and finally, health reasons. Image: FGEE
What is interesting is that the population aged 65 and over has shown a steady increase since 2012, increasing by 15.5 percentage points.
The proportion of women who spend their free time reading is higher than the proportion of men in all age groups, highlighting a 17.5 percentage point difference in readership numbers for the 25-34 age group. Ta. This could be as stark a difference as women doing the national reading with 73.4 percent of them and men 55.9 percent of them.
However, when readers are over 65 years old, the difference is at its lowest level. At that point, the gender gap has almost disappeared, with 56.2 percent of women reading and 50.3 percent of men reading, with only 5.9 percent reading.
In general, 68.6 percent of women read books in their free time, compared to 59.3 percent of men. Compared to 2012, the proportion of women who read books in their free time has increased by 5.3 percentage points, while that of men has increased by 4.5 percentage points.
By age, the section with the highest number of readers is 14-24 years old (74.0%). The 25-64 and 65+ age groups recorded 65.8% and 53.7%, respectively. It should be noted that the population aged 65 and over has shown a constant increase since 2012, increasing by 15.5 percentage points.
Another interesting difference that Daniel Fernández likes to point out is the difference in reading between the so-called “autonomous communities” of Spain.
“Since we started researching and analyzing the Reading Barometer, we have found that there are differences between autonomous communities when it comes to reading habits,” he says. Areas with large concentrations of large cities have higher reading rates than areas with more rural areas and older populations. We must strive to reduce these differences. ”
Of course, there are similarities here that many people are familiar with in other markets as well. More conservative voters and less knowledgeable citizens tend to live in rural areas of many countries, which also have less concentrated readership. Among Spain’s autonomous communities, he is the only one with a reading rate above the Spanish average of 64.1%.
- Madrid (73.5%)
- Catalonia (68.2%)
- Navarre (68.1%)
- Basque Country (67.8%)
- La Rioja (66.6%)
- Aragon (64.3%)
However, there is one bright spot in this regard. Compared to 2012 data, all autonomous communities in Spain show an increase in the amount of reading.
ebooks and audiobooks
In recent years, the use of digital formats among Spanish readers has remained stable at approximately 30% of the survey sample. While reading on smartphones is very popular in some markets, it only accounts for 8.4% in Spain. Image: FGEE
From 2018 to 2023, the share of the population reading in digital format, e-books or audiobooks, has remained at around 30 percent, compared to 29.7 percent last year.
11.8 percent read on an e-reader, 9.7 percent read on a tablet, and 9.7 percent read on a computer, making it the most widely used device.
Many people in other markets will notice that their smartphones are not in these top three. His mobile phone reading rate has remained stable at 8%, but according to the FGEE report, it will reach 8.4% in 2023, and it took several years to reach that level.
A graph showing where Spanish survey respondents typically buy books. Image: FGEE
The researchers of the study revealed that 53.2% of Spaniards surveyed said they would have purchased books (rather than textbooks) in 2023.
Traditional bookstores remain the most widespread channel for purchasing books, followed by digital retailers (the channel most used by people aged 25 to 34) and bookstore chains.
Photo of buying books in Barcelona during Sant Jordi festival in April 2023 – Getty iStockphoto: Manuel Milan
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