Print books vs digital
- The global sales of UK publishing companies total £1.1 billion
- 271 million printed books are sold in the UK each year
- 25.8% of UK book sales are digital
- 74.2% of UK book sales are printed books
- 60% of brits tend to read paperback books
- 47% regularly read hardback books
- 24% read ebooks
- Only 8% of Brits listen to audiobooks
- 18% of 18-24 year olds read digital books
- They are the least likely age group to read books digitally
- 25-39 year olds listen to audiobooks most often with 13% listening to them
[Image 1 – Preference for book format]
How often do British people read?
- 21% of British people are avid readers
- 43% of Brits read for fun at least one time each week
- 35% of Brits read for fun more than once a week
- 19% of British adults read every day
Who reads the most often in the UK?
- 34% of Brits over 55 years old read at least once a day
- Only 7% of 18-24 year olds read at least once a day
- 27% of women read daily
- Only 13% of men in the UK read every day
- 22% of men never read compared to only 12% of women who never read
When do Brits read?
- 36% of Brits prefer to read at night in bed
- 36% prefer to read in the evening but not in bed
- 35% of Brits have stated that they mainly read while they are on holiday
- 43% of when read in bed versus 30% of men
- 13% of men read while on their commute, this is higher than the 9% of women
- 30% of men typically read on holiday and 40% of women typically read while on holiday
What genres do Britons read?
- 36% do not have a preference when it comes to fiction or non-fiction
- 35% of Brits prefer to read fiction
- 42% of women prefer fiction to non-fiction
- 29% of men prefer fiction to non-fiction
- Only 20% of Brits prefer to read non-ficiton books
- 24% of men prefer non-fiction to fiction
- 16% of women prefer non-fiction to fiction
- When it comes to non-fiction genres:
- 41% of Brits don’t have a favorite genre of non-fiction
- 26% of Brits prefer memoirs and biographies making it the most popular genre of non-fiction
- This is followed by history books at 20% and cookbooks at 19%
- When it comes to fiction genres:
- 31% of Brits don’t have a favorite genre of fiction
- 33% of Brits prefer crime novels and thrillers making it the most popular genre of fiction
- Fantasy fiction novels are the second most popular at 22%, with action adventure novels at 20% and classic novels at 19%
- Westerns are the least popular novels with just 2% of Brits choosing it as their favorite genre