Because I spend a good portion of my free time reading, I was curious on how my reading habits measure up to worldwide statistics. Here's what I found:
A study by the NOP World Culture Score Index compiled the responses of 30,000 individuals age 13 and older in 30 countries around the world. The data was weighted to the sampled population in each country and NOP World came up with a determination of the number of hours spent reading by individuals in these countries. The global average is 6.5 hours, but let's take a look at the breakdown by country.
Based on the responses, India is the country where people are reading the most; the average Indian citizen reads 10:42 hours per week. At the bottom end of the list is Korea who reads just slight less than Japan and Taiwan; the average Korean person reads 3:06 hours per week. The United States, which sadly is toward the bottom of the pack, reports that the average person reads 5:42 hours per week. Clearly, I am WAY above the U.S. average weekly reading hours. But I would be a rich, rich woman if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "I haven't read a book in years" (family, friends, colleagues) or "ever" (students)!
Based on the responses, India is the country where people are reading the most; the average Indian citizen reads 10:42 hours per week. At the bottom end of the list is Korea who reads just slight less than Japan and Taiwan; the average Korean person reads 3:06 hours per week. The United States, which sadly is toward the bottom of the pack, reports that the average person reads 5:42 hours per week. Clearly, I am WAY above the U.S. average weekly reading hours. But I would be a rich, rich woman if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say "I haven't read a book in years" (family, friends, colleagues) or "ever" (students)!
As the above graphic shows, the study reveals some interesting trends. First of all and rather strangely, countries located in geographic clusters report similar results. For instance, people in the Asian countries - of India, Thailand, China and the Philippines spend the most time reading.
The southernmost nations, including Venezuela, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Argentina all record similar results: 5:54 to 6:30 hours per week per person.
The Northern European and Middle Eastern countries also report similar results. Egyptians are reading about 7:30 hours per week and Saudi Arabians are reading about 6:48 hours per week. The Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, France, and Hungary all report numbers falling in between those of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Another interesting finding is that the group of industrialized, first world countries including Spain, Canada, Germany, the U.S., and Italy report relatively low rates of reading. The U.S. response of 5:42 hours per week per person ties that of Germany. That rate is also just lower than those of Turkey, Spain, and Canada and just higher than that of Italy.
In addition, the drastic span of the results reported by recently developing nations including the Four Asian Tigers, India and Brazil suggests that there may not be a link between reading rates and economic development and industrialization.
Having not seen the study questions, I am uncertain of what the survey constitutes "reading". I assume that they question the reading of books and not emails, text messages, websites, etc. It should also be noted that the survey also compiled information on the amount of television watched, radio listened to, and hours spent on the internet (not for school or work purposes). The tops in those categories are, respectively: Thailand (22.4 hours), Argentina (20.8 hours), and Taiwan (12.6 hours).
The southernmost nations, including Venezuela, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Argentina all record similar results: 5:54 to 6:30 hours per week per person.
The Northern European and Middle Eastern countries also report similar results. Egyptians are reading about 7:30 hours per week and Saudi Arabians are reading about 6:48 hours per week. The Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, France, and Hungary all report numbers falling in between those of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Another interesting finding is that the group of industrialized, first world countries including Spain, Canada, Germany, the U.S., and Italy report relatively low rates of reading. The U.S. response of 5:42 hours per week per person ties that of Germany. That rate is also just lower than those of Turkey, Spain, and Canada and just higher than that of Italy.
In addition, the drastic span of the results reported by recently developing nations including the Four Asian Tigers, India and Brazil suggests that there may not be a link between reading rates and economic development and industrialization.
Having not seen the study questions, I am uncertain of what the survey constitutes "reading". I assume that they question the reading of books and not emails, text messages, websites, etc. It should also be noted that the survey also compiled information on the amount of television watched, radio listened to, and hours spent on the internet (not for school or work purposes). The tops in those categories are, respectively: Thailand (22.4 hours), Argentina (20.8 hours), and Taiwan (12.6 hours).
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