From Spain to Italy, how much (and how) we read in Europe

The purchase of books (excluding text books) has also increased, and at an even faster pace than the reading habit: the cumulative growth since 2012 is almost 13 percentage points, and in 2023 53.2 percent of the population Spanish has bought at least one book.

SLOVAKIA IS THE COUNTRY THAT INVESTS THE MOST IN BOOKS

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The trend for Spain is positive, but if you look at the international context, the comparison shows that there is still a long way to go. The latest data published by Eurostat on spending on books, newspapers and other stationery items places Slovakia at the top of the ranking in terms of spending per family, with almost 2 percent of the budget in 2021. Croatia follows (1.8 percent). hundred), Norway (1.6 percent) and Germany (1.5 percent); while countries such as Spain, Greece and Romania rank lower, with 0.5 percent of the budget. The average European spending on publishing is 1.1 percent.

Internet sales are growing

Thanks to the pandemic, since 2020 not only the budget allocated to books in Europe has changed, but also the purchasing method. According to data published by Eurostat, Switzerland is the country that purchased the most books, magazines and newspapers online in 2023, with 25.7 percent of the population. Followed by the Netherlands (23.5 percent) and Norway (22.7 percent). With its 14.9 percent, in this case Spain exceeds the European average (13.4 percent) and records an increase of almost four percentage points compared to 2020.

SWITZERLAND, THE COUNTRY THAT BUYS THE MOST ON THE INTERNET

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According to data published by the Ministry of Culture and Sport, in Spain we continue to focus on physical sales points, especially bookshops: it follows that only 26 percent of the population makes online purchases, a possibility that in 2012 was only contemplated by 4 percent of the population. The figure is higher than that of Eurostat because it does not include magazines and newspapers.

In any case, one issue is the money spent and another is the time dedicated. The example of Greece is perfect to explain this difference. The Hellenic country is below the European average in terms of books purchased, but only 35 percent of the population says they have not read a single book in the last year, according to a survey commissioned by Ocma and conducted by Nikos Panagiotopoulos, professor of sociology at the National and Koper University of Athens, and by the polling company Metron Analysis.