According to the latest data from the National Media Institute, 41.4 % of Poles read books. Nearly half of women – 49.4% and a third of men – 32.7%- read books in their free time.

The National Media Institute’s Foundational Survey asks Poles how they spend their leisure time. Reading books in the 12 months preceding the survey was declared by 55.8 % in the 16-29 age group. In each subsequent age group, the percentage is lower: 42.6 % for people aged 30-49, 36.5 % for those aged 50-64 and finally 33.4 % for those aged 65 and over.

Among persons with higher education, the reading rate is 67.4 %, while 31.4 % of persons with secondary education and 23.7 % of persons with vocational education declare to read books.

Inhabitants of large cities with more than 200,000 residents are most likely to read books in their free time (55.5 %), while inhabitants of rural areas are least likely to read (32.8 %).

People who do not have a TV in their household are more likely to read books – 55.7 %; in the group of people with a TV, the percentage of those who read is 40.8 %. An inverse relationship was observed among radio listeners. In the group of radio listeners, 43.3 % of people read books; in the group of people who do not listen to the radio, the reading rate is 29 %.

The aforementioned results report on the readership of both paper and electronic books. The data comes from the Founder’s Survey, which covered a representative sample of 16,007 people aged 16+ between January and June 2022.

The National Media Institute was established in December 2020 by the National Broadcasting Council. It began its activities in March 2021. Its mission is to provide complex and reliable information on the contemporary media consumer in Poland.

Adrian Andrzejewski