Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers, magazines or electronic books in digital format, male (%) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
64
Highest
94.6%
Republic of Korea
Lowest
0.2%
El Salvador
Median
64.5%
Years covered
23
2002–2024
Data points
804
What the numbers show
Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers, magazines or electronic books in digital format, male (%) is currently reported for 64 countries. The highest value is 94.6% in Republic of Korea; the lowest is 0.2% in El Salvador.
The median across all reporting countries is 64.5%, and the mean is 54.3%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 473.
Over the past decade 57 countries rose and 6 fell. The largest increase was in Ecuador (up 3,600.0%), and the largest decrease in El Salvador (down 77.8%).
Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Republic of Korea | 94.6% | 2023 | up 27.7% | rising |
| 2 | Norway | 94.0% | 2021 | up 11.6% | rising |
| 3 | Iceland | 93.9% | 2014 | up 45.4% | rising |
| 4 | Denmark | 88.6% | 2024 | up 19.1% | rising |
| 5 | Hong Kong, China | 84.3% | 2022 | up 29.3% | rising |
| 6 | Estonia | 81.4% | 2019 | up 31.1% | rising |
| 7 | Cyprus | 80.9% | 2023 | up 61.2% | rising |
| 8 | Sweden | 79.0% | 2024 | down 6.8% | rising |
| 9 | Czechia | 78.9% | 2023 | up 20.1% | rising |
| 10 | Lithuania | 77.8% | 2023 | up 24.1% | rising |
| 11 | Croatia | 77.5% | 2023 | up 22.6% | rising |
| 12 | Switzerland | 77.2% | 2023 | up 9.2% | rising |
| 13 | Spain | 75.5% | 2023 | up 36.5% | rising |
| 14 | Finland | 75.2% | 2016 | up 58.3% | rising |
| 15 | Luxembourg | 75.0% | 2024 | down 11.1% | rising |
| 16 | Serbia | 73.9% | 2023 | up 66.1% | rising |
| 17 | Montenegro | 73.5% | 2022 | up 60.5% | rising |
| 18 | Netherlands | 73.2% | 2016 | up 73.5% | rising |
| 18 | Malta | 73.2% | 2023 | up 46.4% | rising |
| 20 | Austria | 72.5% | 2022 | up 41.1% | rising |
| 21 | Portugal | 70.9% | 2023 | up 40.1% | rising |
| 22 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 70.3% | 2023 | up 34.2% | rising |
| 23 | Belarus | 70.0% | 2023 | up 52.2% | rising |
| 24 | Latvia | 69.9% | 2023 | up 8.5% | rising |
| 25 | Slovenia | 69.6% | 2023 | up 14.9% | rising |
| 26 | Poland | 69.2% | 2023 | up 140.3% | volatile |
| 27 | Malaysia | 67.6% | 2023 | up 35.2% | rising |
| 28 | Belgium | 67.1% | 2023 | up 43.4% | rising |
| 29 | Japan | 66.4% | 2022 | up 1,283.3% | volatile |
| 30 | Germany | 66.2% | 2024 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 31 | Hungary | 65.7% | 2017 | up 123.5% | rising |
| 32 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 65.6% | 2016 | up 113.7% | rising |
| 33 | Bahrain | 63.4% | 2023 | up 192.2% | rising |
| 34 | Slovakia | 63.2% | 2024 | up 19.9% | rising |
| 35 | Greece | 62.6% | 2016 | up 268.2% | volatile |
| 36 | Bulgaria | 60.2% | 2023 | up 51.3% | rising |
| 37 | Romania | 58.6% | 2023 | up 86.6% | rising |
| 38 | Türkiye | 58.5% | 2024 | up 26.1% | rising |
| 39 | Italy | 56.3% | 2023 | up 27.4% | rising |
| 40 | North Macedonia | 53.2% | 2017 | up 518.6% | rising |
| 40 | Singapore | 53.2% | 2023 | up 79.7% | rising |
| 42 | France | 52.9% | 2023 | up 16.5% | rising |
| 43 | Macau, China | 48.9% | 2021 | up 85.9% | rising |
| 44 | Brazil | 48.4% | 2023 | up 127.2% | rising |
| 45 | Morocco | 48.2% | 2021 | up 71.5% | rising |
| 46 | Ireland | 40.5% | 2015 | up 710.0% | volatile |
| 47 | Georgia | 36.9% | 2023 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 48 | Mexico | 29.0% | 2023 | up 8.6% | volatile |
| 49 | Mauritius | 28.1% | 2020 | up 181.0% | rising |
| 50 | Paraguay | 25.2% | 2023 | up 1,700.0% | volatile |
| 51 | Qatar | 24.3% | 2020 | down 31.5% | falling |
| 52 | Thailand | 24.2% | 2020 | up 426.1% | rising |
| 53 | Ukraine | 18.9% | 2021 | up 83.5% | rising |
| 54 | Jamaica | 17.6% | 2021 | up 402.9% | rising |
| 55 | Russian Federation | 15.8% | 2023 | up 28.5% | falling |
| 56 | Colombia | 15.7% | 2023 | up 175.4% | rising |
| 57 | United Arab Emirates | 14.6% | 2023 | down 77.0% | volatile |
| 58 | Iran, Islamic Republic of | 10.8% | 2021 | up 103.8% | rising |
| 59 | Kazakhstan | 10.2% | 2023 | down 8.1% | falling |
| 60 | Egypt | 7.6% | 2022 | up 744.4% | rising |
| 61 | Azerbaijan | 5.7% | 2023 | up 96.6% | rising |
| 62 | Ecuador | 3.7% | 2024 | up 3,600.0% | volatile |
| 63 | Albania | 3.1% | 2023 | — | falling |
| 64 | El Salvador | 0.2% | 2020 | down 77.8% | volatile |
About this data
February 2026 Data Release