Have you ever wondered how much time an average American spends reading? Also, how do Americans compare against book lovers around the world?
If you’re curious about these and similar pieces of trivia, just keep scrolling!
How Many Books Does the Average Person Read?
Research shows Americans read around 12 books a year, while in the last 12 months, the average American has gone through 4 books. Moreover, 73% of Americans claimed to have read at least one book in the previous year. Fortunately, based on the evidence, these numbers have remained relatively constant since 2011.
Insightful Statistics on Reading Habits
Here are some of the latest trends in the book-reading world you don’t want to miss. So get comfy in your favorite reading chair and find out how popular reading is.
The average adult in the US reads 12 books per year.
(Medium)
Pew Research Center’s data tells us that 50% of American adults read four books or fewer. Also, Americans who have a college degree typically get their hands on seventeen books each year, with about 50% of them finishing seven or fewer of those books.
However, 23% of adults in the US claimed they hadn’t read a book in the 12 months prior to the survey.
(Pew Research)
Around a quarter of adults in the States didn’t read a book, whether in audio, electronic, or print form in the year preceding the survey. Household income is one of the factors affecting these stats. More precisely, there seem to be more non-readers among households with an annual income of up to $30,000.
A 25-year-old man will read around 684 more books in the rest of his lifespan (if he’s an average reader).
(Mental Floss)
The average 25-year-old female reader, on the other hand, will read around 732 more books. If she’s a passionate reader, she’ll likely even read 3,050 more books, while 25-year-old male bibliophiles will finish another 2,850 books.
Typically, women read more than men.
(Iris Reading)
In 2015, approximately 77% of women in the States read at least one book, compared to 67% of men. Additionally, the average American woman finished fourteen books in a year, compared to the average man who finished nine.
Older individuals read less.
(Iris Reading)
As people grow older, they tend to neglect their reading habits. Namely, data shows that 80% of people between 18 and 29 read at least a single book, while 69% of people over 65 said the same.
On average, Americans spend 5 hours 42 minutes a week reading.
(Iris Reading)
Furthermore, German people seem to spend exactly the same amount of time reading, and people in Spain, Canada, and Italy rank almost the same. Although that number might sound impressive, it’s not as impressive when compared to other countries. For instance, people in India spend five hours more a week reading than American citizens do.
Conclusion
So, what’s the average number of books read per year in America? Twelve, which is a pretty decent score and one that is likely to keep growing. Large numbers of readers are always a positive thing, and we certainly hope reading stats will get even better in the future.
