Luxembourg emerges as the most avid book-reading nation in the EU, with over three-quarters of its population reporting they picked up a book in the past year, according to recent data released on International Book Lovers Day.
On the occasion of International Book Lovers Day, celebrated annually on 9 August, recent statistics from the EU's income and living conditions survey reveal insightful trends in book reading habits across the European Union. According to the 2022 data, 52.8% of the EU population aged 16 and over reported reading at least one book in the past 12 months.
Luxembourg stands out as the EU country with the highest percentage of book readers, with an impressive 75.2% of its population engaging in reading over the past year. Denmark follows closely with 72.1%, and Estonia ranks third with 70.7%. These figures starkly contrast with countries like Romania, where only 29.5% of the population reported reading books, and Cyprus and Italy, with 33.1% and 35.4% respectively.
© Eurostat
The survey also highlights significant differences in reading habits based on age and gender. Younger people aged 16–29 are more likely to read books, with 60.1% reporting that they had read at least one book in the past year. This percentage decreases with age: 53.5% of those aged 30–54, 52.6% of those aged 55–64, and 47.2% of those aged 65 and over reported reading books.
Gender also plays a significant role in book reading habits. Across the EU, more women (60.5%) reported reading books than men (44.5%). The data further shows that women tend to read more books than men, with 17.4% of women reading 10 or more books over the past year compared to just 9.9% of men.
