Americans today have an enormous variety of content available to them at any time of day, and this material is available in a number of formats and through a range of digitally connected devices. Yet even as the number of ways people spend their time has expanded, a Pew Research Center survey finds that the share of Americans who have read a book in the last 12 months (73%) has remained largely unchanged since 2012. And when people reach for a book, it is much more likely to be a traditional print book than a digital product. Fully 65% of Americans have read a print book in the last year, more than double the share that has read an e-book (28%) and more than four times the share that has consumed book content via audio book (14%).
But while print remains at the center of the overall book reading landscape, there has been a clear shift in the e-book landscape in the last five years. Americans are increasingly turning to multipurpose devices, such as smartphones and tablets, rather than dedicated e-readers, when interacting with e-book content. the proportion of e-book readers on tablets has more than tripled since 2011 and the number of readers on phones has more than doubled during that time, while the proportion of readers on e-book reading devices has not changed. and smartphones are playing an especially prominent role in the e-reading habits of certain demographic groups, such as non-whites and those who have not attended college.
You are reading: How many books does the average person read
These are some of the main findings of a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,520 American adults conducted from March 7 to April 4, 2016.
the proportion of Americans who have read a book in the past year has remained virtually unchanged since 2012; more Americans read print books than read e-books or listen to audiobooks
After a slight overall decline in the number of book readers between 2011 and 2012, the proportion of American adults who read books in any format has remained virtually unchanged for the past four years. About 73% of Americans report that they have read at least one book in the past year. that’s nearly identical to the 74% who reported doing so in a 2012 survey, though lower than the 79% who reported doing so in 2011.
Americans read an average (median) of 12 books per year, while the typical (median) American has read 4 books in the last 12 months. Each of these figures is virtually unchanged since 2011, when the Pew Research Center began conducting surveys of Americans’ book-reading habits (for additional details on the number of books read per year by different demographic groups, see appendix a).
Readers today can access books in several common digital formats, but print books remain substantially more popular than e-books or audiobooks. roughly two-thirds of Americans (65%) have read a print book in the past year, which is identical to the proportion of Americans who reported doing so in 2012 (although slightly down from the 71% who reported reading a print book in 2011). ).
By contrast, 28% of Americans have read an ebook (and 14% have listened to an audiobook) in the past year. In addition to being less popular than print books in general, the proportion of Americans who read eBooks or listen to audiobooks has been fairly stable in recent years.
The number of e-book readers increased by 11 percentage points between 2011 and 2014 (from 17% to 28%), but has not changed in the last two years. Similarly, the proportion of American adults who listen to audiobooks has changed only marginally since the Pew Research Center first asked about it in 2011; at that time, 11% of Americans had listened to an audiobook in the past year, compared to 14% now.
nearly four in ten Americans read exclusively print books; only 6% are exclusively digital book readers
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In total, 34% of Americans have read an e-book or listened to an audio book in the past year, but relatively few Americans read books in these digital formats, excluding print books.
More than one-quarter (28%) of Americans read books in both print and digital formats (which includes e-books and audio books). Some 38% read print books but did not read books in any digital formats, while just 6% read digital books but not print books.
Relatively few Americans are “digital-only” book readers, regardless of their demographics. however, some demographics are slightly more likely than others to do all of their reading digitally. for example, 7% of college graduates are digital-only book readers (compared to just 3% of non-high school graduates), as are 8% of those with annual household income of $75,000 or more (compared to 3% of Americans with income of $30,000 or less). Interestingly, young adults are no more likely than older adults to be “digital-only” book readers: 6% of 18-29-year-olds read digital-only books, compared to 7% of those aged 18-29. 30 to 49 years old. -elderly and 5% of those over 50.
College graduates are about four times as likely to read e-books and about twice as likely to read print and audiobooks, compared to those who did not graduate from high school
As was the case in previous Pew Research Center surveys on book reading, certain groups of Americans read at relatively high rates and in a wide variety of formats. These include:
College graduates: Compared to those who have not attended college, college graduates are more likely to read books in general, read print books, and consume digital book content. the typical (median) college graduate has read seven books in the past year.
young adults: 80% of 18-29 year olds have read a book in the past year, compared to 67% of those 65 and older. these young adults are more likely than their elders to read books in various digital formats, but they are also more likely to read books in print: 72% have read a print book in the past year, compared to 61% of older adults .1
Women: Women are more likely than men to read books in general and also to read print books. however, men and women are equally likely to read books in digital format, such as eBooks and audiobooks.
the proportion of Americans who read books on tablets or cell phones has increased substantially since 2011, while the proportion using dedicated e-readers has remained flat
Tablet computer and smartphone ownership have each increased dramatically in recent years, and a growing share of Americans are using these multipurpose mobile devices – rather than dedicated e-readers – to read books. Between 2011 and 2016, the number of Americans who read books on tablet computers has increased nearly fourfold (from 4% to 15%), while the share who read books on smartphones has more than doubled (from 5% to 13%). The share of Americans who read books on desktop or laptop computers has also increased, although by a more modest amount: 11% of Americans now do this, up from 7% in 2011.
By contrast, 8% of Americans now report reading books using dedicated electronic reading devices, nearly identical to the 7% who reported doing so in 2011.
about one in five Americans under the age of 50 have used a cell phone to read e-books; Blacks and Americans who have not attended college are especially likely to turn to cell phones, rather than other digital devices, when reading e-books
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Previous Pew Research Center studies have documented how several groups – such as blacks and Latinos, and those who have not attended college – tend to rely heavily on smartphones for online access. And in the context of book reading, members of these groups are especially likely to turn to smartphones – rather than tablets or other types of digital devices – when they engage with e-book content.
For example, 16% of Blacks report using their cell phones to read books. that’s almost double the proportion of blacks who read books on traditional computers (9%) and four times the proportion of those who read books using dedicated e-readers (4%). Hispanics are less likely than Blacks overall to read books on cell phones (11% do), but Hispanics are also much more likely to read books on cell phones than e-readers or traditional computers. By contrast, whites tend to use a variety of digital devices when reading ebooks: 13% read ebooks on cell phones, but 18% read ebooks on tablets, 10% use ebook readers, and 11% engage with eBook content on desktop or laptop.
Mobile phones also play a relatively prominent role in the reading habits of Americans who have not attended college. college graduates are much more likely than those with high school diplomas or less to read books on tablets (25% vs. 7%), ebook readers (15% vs. 3%), or traditional computers (15% vs. 6%). ). but these differences are much less pronounced when it comes to reading books on mobile phones. about 17% of college graduates read books this way, compared to 11% of those with high school diplomas or less, only a difference of 6 percentage points.
Along with these groups, Americans under 50 are especially likely to consume e-book content on mobile phones: one in five (19%) do so, compared to 9% of 50-64 year olds. -older and only 4% of those over 65.
the proportion of Americans who read to research a specific topic of interest has increased in recent years
In addition to asking whether – and on what devices – Americans read books specifically, the survey also included a broader set of questions asking about reasons that people might read written content of any kind (including books, but also magazines, newspapers or online content).
among all American adults:
- 84% ever read to research specific topics of interest (29% do so nearly every day).
- 82% read to keep up with current events ( 47% almost every day).
- 80% read for pleasure (35% almost every day).
- 57% read for work or school (31% almost every day).
A similar proportion of Americans report that they read for pleasure, for work or school, or to keep up with current events compared to the last time these questions were asked in 2011. However, the proportion of Americans reading for the purpose of researching specific topics of interest has increased by 10 percentage points over that time period, from 74% to 84%.
Older adults and young people are just as likely to read for pleasure or to keep up with current events; younger adults are more likely to read for work or school, or to research a topic of interest
In some cases, the factors associated with high rates of book readership are the same ones associated with reading for specific purposes. For instance, college graduates are more likely than those who have only attended high school to read books in general – and they are also more likely to read for all four of the specific motivations examined in this survey.
At the same time, there is not always such a direct relationship between reading books and general reading for specific purposes. as noted earlier in this report, young adults are more likely to read books than older adults. and when asked about the specific reasons why they might read a variety of content, these young adults are much more likely to say they read for work or school, or to research a specific topic of interest, than older adults . however, Americans of all ages are equally likely to report that they read (whether in book form or otherwise) for pleasure or to keep up with current events.
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