Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers, magazines or electronic books in digital format, 25-74 years old, both sexes (%) by country

February 2026 Data Release

Countries reporting
62
Highest
95.0%
Norway
Lowest
0.2%
El Salvador
Median
62.0%
Years covered
23
2002–2024
Data points
760

What the numbers show

Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers, magazines or electronic books in digital format, 25-74 years old, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 62 countries. The highest value is 95.0% in Norway; the lowest is 0.2% in El Salvador.

The median across all reporting countries is 62.0%, and the mean is 53.4%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 475.

Over the past decade 55 countries rose and 6 fell. The largest increase was in Bosnia and Herzegovina (up 3,363.2%), and the largest decrease in El Salvador (down 88.2%).

Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Norway 95.0% 2021 up 22.9% rising
2 Republic of Korea 92.6% 2023 up 23.1% rising
3 Iceland 92.5% 2014 up 49.4% rising
4 Denmark 87.9% 2024 up 23.6% rising
5 Hong Kong, China 86.7% 2022 up 36.3% rising
6 Sweden 83.1% 2024 up 1.3% rising
6 Czechia 83.1% 2023 up 36.2% volatile
8 Cyprus 81.2% 2023 up 82.5% volatile
9 Lithuania 80.1% 2023 up 38.8% rising
10 Finland 79.0% 2016 up 77.5% rising
11 Switzerland 77.7% 2023 up 17.0% rising
12 Malta 74.3% 2023 up 65.8% rising
13 Luxembourg 74.0% 2024 down 8.8% rising
13 Spain 74.0% 2023 up 53.5% rising
15 Montenegro 73.0% 2022 up 107.4% rising
16 Croatia 72.6% 2023 up 39.9% rising
16 Serbia 72.6% 2023 up 83.8% rising
18 Belarus 72.4% 2023 up 57.7% rising
19 Japan 72.3% 2022 up 1,290.4% volatile
20 Latvia 71.6% 2023 up 15.7% rising
21 Netherlands 70.4% 2016 up 107.1% rising
22 Slovenia 69.8% 2023 up 30.0% rising
23 Poland 69.6% 2023 up 170.8% volatile
24 Hungary 68.4% 2016 up 208.1% rising
25 Austria 66.7% 2022 up 51.2% rising
26 Portugal 66.6% 2023 up 64.0% rising
27 Bosnia and Herzegovina 65.8% 2023 up 3,363.2% volatile
28 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 64.2% 2016 up 175.5% rising
29 Germany 63.9% 2024 up 6.3% rising
30 Belgium 63.3% 2023 up 51.8% rising
31 Bahrain 63.0% 2023 up 149.0% rising
32 Slovakia 61.1% 2024 up 20.3% rising
33 Bulgaria 59.4% 2023 up 65.0% volatile
34 Greece 56.2% 2016 up 368.3% volatile
35 Romania 55.3% 2023 up 110.3% rising
36 Italy 54.8% 2023 up 44.6% rising
37 France 53.2% 2023 up 36.1% rising
38 Macau, China 52.2% 2021 up 97.0% rising
39 Singapore 52.0% 2023 up 63.5% rising
40 Türkiye 50.9% 2024 up 55.2% volatile
41 Brazil 49.3% 2023 up 142.9% rising
42 North Macedonia 47.4% 2017 up 92.7% rising
43 Morocco 42.8% 2021 up 179.7% rising
44 Georgia 40.7% 2023 up 9.4% rising
45 Ireland 37.9% 2015 up 871.8% volatile
46 Qatar 30.7% 2020 down 10.5% falling
47 Mexico 29.3% 2023 up 35.6% volatile
48 Paraguay 28.0% 2023 up 1,900.0% volatile
49 Mauritius 26.6% 2020 up 259.5% volatile
50 Thailand 24.8% 2020 up 439.1% rising
51 Jamaica 24.2% 2021 up 572.2% volatile
52 Ukraine 19.6% 2021 up 115.4% volatile
53 Colombia 18.2% 2023 up 61.1% rising
54 Russian Federation 16.0% 2023 up 35.6% flat
55 United Arab Emirates 15.6% 2023 down 78.7% volatile
56 Kazakhstan 12.1% 2023 down 0.8% flat
57 Estonia 9.5% 2017 down 79.7% rising
58 Egypt 5.7% 2022 up 714.3% rising
59 Azerbaijan 5.4% 2023 up 145.5% rising
60 Ecuador 2.8% 2024 up 1,300.0% volatile
61 Albania 2.5% 2023 volatile
62 El Salvador 0.2% 2020 down 88.2% volatile

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Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 07 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/proportion-of-youth-and-adults-that-read-or-downloaded-newspapers-magazines-or-electronic-6/

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About this data

Indicator
Proportion of youth and adults that read or downloaded newspapers, magazines or electronic books in digital format, 25-74 years old, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
62 places, 760 data points, 2002–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release