New Guardian Essential poll data released this week reveal some concerning statistics around Australians’ participation in recreational reading, that link to wider national trends about reading rates.
Two-thirds of respondents to the poll said they either did not read a book in the last year (30%), or read just one to three books (35%).
That’s a combined total of over 60%, or around 13 million Australians.
The poll showed about 20% of respondents reported reading four to ten books a year, with those who read more than 10 books a year sitting at 10%.
These latest statistics tie in with other recent ABS and Creative Australia data reporting the proportion of non-readers sitting at approximately 30%1 – showing that too many Australians are missing out on the life-changing benefits of recreational reading.
The good news is that, when asked about their summer plans, 50% of poll respondents said they planned to read a book – the same proportion who reported wanting to go to the beach (51%) and more than those who planned to watch the cricket (29%).
As we head towards summer, we encourage you to buy a book from your local bookstore, share the love of reading with others, and talk about books and reading with your friends and family. Together, we can build a stronger reading culture in Australia.
Reading has a range of benefits for our physical and mental health. Regular reading for pleasure is proven to reduce stress by up to 20%2, and lowers the risk of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety3 and helps us get a better night’s sleep4. Research shows that adults who read regularly are less likely to feel lonely5, and shared reading can provide an important bonding experience for parents, children and caregivers.6
We want to see more Australians reading more books, more often – which is why we are advocating to Government for significant attention and investment in reading.
Find out more about our advocacy position, and join the mission to get more Australians reading.
- Creative Australia 2023, ‘Creating Value: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey’; ABS 2023 ↩︎
- The Queen’s Reading Room Study 2024 ↩︎
- Weziak-Bialowolska, D. & Bialowolski, P. & Sacco, P.L. 2023 ‘Mind-stimulating leisure activities: Prospective associations with health, wellbeing, and longevity’ ↩︎
- Billington, J. 2015, ‘Reading between the Lines: the Benefits of Reading for Pleasure’ ↩︎
- Billington, J. 2015, ‘Reading between the Lines: the Benefits of Reading for Pleasure’ ↩︎
- Gift of Words 2021, Oxford Children’s Language Australia ↩︎