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

February 2026 Data Release

Countries reporting
60
Highest
95.0%
Norway
Lowest
0.1%
El Salvador
Median
59.4%
Years covered
23
2002–2024
Data points
755

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, female (%) is currently reported for 60 countries. The highest value is 95.0% in Norway; the lowest is 0.1% in El Salvador.

The median across all reporting countries is 59.4%, and the mean is 53.1%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 950.

Over the past decade 56 countries rose and 3 fell. The largest increase was in Bosnia and Herzegovina (up 3,594.1%), and the largest decrease in El Salvador (down 93.3%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Norway 95.0% 2021 up 33.1% rising
2 Iceland 91.4% 2014 up 55.7% rising
3 Republic of Korea 90.5% 2023 up 30.0% rising
4 Denmark 85.8% 2024 up 26.2% rising
5 Hong Kong, China 85.2% 2022 up 41.3% rising
6 Sweden 82.8% 2024 up 5.7% rising
7 Czechia 82.6% 2023 up 40.5% volatile
8 Lithuania 82.3% 2023 up 42.9% rising
9 Cyprus 81.5% 2023 up 98.3% volatile
10 Finland 79.7% 2016 up 88.0% rising
11 Malta 77.6% 2023 up 86.1% rising
12 Switzerland 74.6% 2023 up 24.3% rising
13 Belarus 73.3% 2023 up 57.3% rising
14 Montenegro 72.8% 2022 up 129.7% rising
15 Spain 72.5% 2023 up 68.6% volatile
16 Serbia 72.0% 2023 up 104.5% rising
17 Latvia 71.6% 2023 up 16.4% rising
18 Japan 70.9% 2022 up 1,588.1% volatile
19 Luxembourg 70.7% 2024 down 8.2% volatile
20 Poland 69.5% 2023 up 190.8% volatile
21 Slovenia 69.1% 2023 up 39.9% rising
22 Croatia 67.4% 2023 up 44.6% rising
23 Hungary 67.1% 2016 up 232.2% rising
24 Netherlands 66.6% 2016 up 135.3% rising
25 Portugal 64.4% 2023 up 81.9% volatile
26 Bosnia and Herzegovina 62.8% 2023 up 3,594.1% volatile
27 Austria 61.7% 2022 up 60.7% volatile
28 Bahrain 61.0% 2023 up 93.0% rising
29 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 60.8% 2016 up 270.7% volatile
30 Germany 60.0% 2024 up 11.1% volatile
31 Slovakia 58.8% 2024 up 20.5% rising
32 Belgium 58.6% 2023 up 57.1% rising
33 Bulgaria 58.2% 2023 up 71.2% volatile
34 Italy 53.0% 2023 up 61.1% volatile
35 Greece 52.8% 2016 up 506.9% volatile
36 Romania 52.4% 2023 up 120.2% rising
37 Macau, China 51.0% 2021 up 123.7% rising
38 France 50.1% 2023 up 45.2% rising
39 Singapore 49.9% 2023 up 69.2% rising
40 Brazil 47.9% 2023 up 149.5% rising
41 North Macedonia 45.2% 2017 up 1,059.0% rising
42 Georgia 43.9% 2023 up 16.1% rising
43 Türkiye 43.8% 2024 up 84.8% rising
44 Ireland 37.1% 2015 up 1,059.4% volatile
45 Qatar 36.9% 2020 up 25.5% falling
46 Mexico 29.2% 2023 up 54.5% volatile
47 Paraguay 28.2% 2023 up 2,463.6% volatile
48 Jamaica 28.0% 2021 up 656.8% volatile
49 Mauritius 24.8% 2020 up 320.3% volatile
50 Thailand 24.6% 2020 up 423.4% rising
51 Russian Federation 17.3% 2023 up 39.5% rising
52 Ukraine 17.2% 2021 up 117.7% volatile
53 Colombia 17.1% 2023 up 64.4% rising
54 Kazakhstan 12.5% 2023 up 5.0% rising
55 Estonia 9.9% 2017 down 78.7% rising
56 Egypt 5.2% 2022 up 642.9% rising
57 Azerbaijan 5.0% 2023 up 138.1% rising
58 Ecuador 3.0% 2024 up 1,400.0% volatile
59 Albania 2.8% 2023 falling
60 El Salvador 0.1% 2020 down 93.3% 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-8/

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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, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
60 places, 755 data points, 2002–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release