The latest National Arts Participation Survey offers some reassuring news for the books sector – along with a few surprising discoveries about Australian’s reading habits and preferences.
Reading rates have held steady according to the latest national survey data from Creative Australia.
Two thirds of Australians – or 14.4 million people – read for pleasure, and more Australians are reading on a weekly basis across all formats.
Print books remain the most popular and audiobooks on the rise – with word-of-mouth recommendations being the most popular way of finding your next great read.
This data is encouraging for the books industry, particularly in its findings around young Australians increased engagement with reading.
Key findings
Two thirds of the population aged 15+ (69%) – or 14.4 million Australians – read at least one book last year across print, ebook and audio formats. This number remains steady from 2022, but is down from 72% in 2019.
More readers are reading on a weekly basis. Overall, the proportion of readers who read on a weekly basis has increased across all reading formats. Almost half of print book readers say they read print books once a week or more often (49% up from 45% in 2022). Significantly more audiobook readers are engaging with audiobooks once a week or more often (24% significantly up from 17% in 2022).
Young readers aged 15–24 are increasingly reading on a more frequent basis across all formats. In 2025, half of Australian readers aged 15–24 read print books at least once a week (51% up from 42% in 2022), one third read ebooks at least once a week (33% up from 27% in 2022) and one third listened to audiobooks at least once a week (33% up from 19% in 2022).
Print books remain the most popular format – with audiobooks on the rise. Two thirds of Australians read physical books (66% consistent with 66% in 2022), almost two in five listened to audiobooks (37% up from 34% in 2022). Ebook consumption was slightly down from 41% in 2022, to 36% in 2025.
Word of mouth is the most common way Australians are discovering new books. Two in five Australians say they usually discover new books to read through word of mouth (39%). This is followed by libraries (29%) and bookshops (27%). However, young Australians aged 15–24 most commonly discover books on social media (35% of those aged 15–24 compared to 30% of 25–49 year-olds and 10% of those aged 50+)
Two in five Australians read to someone else. When we’re not reading for ourselves, we’re sharing books with others. Two in five Australians read to someone else (39%), most commonly to children/grandchildren (28%), followed by someone they care for (10%).
Almost two thirds of parents with children aged under 16 read to their children (64%), particularly those with children aged under three years old (77%), and primary school-aged children (73%).
Creative Transformations: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey is the sixth survey in the research series from Creative Australia. Based on a nationally representative sample of 9,065 people, the 2025 National Arts Participation Survey was conducted between June and September in 2025.