A new 17-country report from GfK shows that 30% of the international online population read books “every day or most days.” This is led by China at 36%, closely followed by Spain and the UK at 32% each. Canada ranks at number 6 on this list.
However, if the segment is widened to include both daily book readers and those who read “at least once a week,” the international average rises to 59%, with China firmly in the lead (70%) and Canada dropping to number 10 on the list (50%).
Canadian women are more likely to be avid book readers than men
Globally, 32% of women report reading books every or most days, compared to 27% of men. This gender gap among daily book readers is also found in Canada (36% of women versus 23% of men), the Netherlands (30% versus 14%), Spain (40% versus 25%), and Germany (31% versus 19%).
Non-book readers most common in Netherlands and South Korea
The Netherlands and South Korea have the highest percentage of their online populations who report never reading books, standing at 16% each. In South Korea, the non-reader group is fairly evenly divided between men and women, but in the Netherlands it is heavily led by men, with 23% never reading books, compared to just 9% of women. The study also shows that 11% of Canadians also reported never reading books, coming in third along (with the French and Japanese) on the list of non-book readers of the world.
