Who is listening to audiobooks, and what are they listening to? How do audiobooks compare to print and ebook reading? And what are audiobook listeners’ perceptions of themselves as ‘readers’? New research seeks to answer these questions.
Audiobook listening is on the rise in Australia, with more readers embracing this format as a way to integrate reading into their routines.
New reports from Creative Australia and Australian National University look more closely at the reading behaviours and preferences of Australian audiobook listeners, and unpacks this broader reading trend in Australia.
We draw out some of the key findings from these reports.
Audiobook listening is on the rise – especially with younger Australians
Creative Australia’s latest National Arts Participation Survey revealed that almost two in five (37%) Australians listen to audiobooks – up from 34% in 2022, and 31% in 2019.
This is especially the case for younger Australians: 69% of those aged 15–24 and 69% of those aged 25–49 listened to audiobooks, compared to 33% of those aged 50, and one third of Australian readers aged 15–24 listened to audiobooks at least once a week.
By way of comparison to other formats, two thirds (66%) of Australians read physical books, and over a third (36%) read ebooks.
Audiobooks are increasingly part of readers’ routines
Research from Australian National University (ANU) showed that 59.2% of audiobook readers listen to an audiobook at least once a week – a significant increase from the 24% recently reported by Creative Australia.
This shows that over half of audiobook listeners have successfully embedded audiobooks into their weekly routines, and are regularly making time and space for listening to books.
Audiobook listeners love to multitask
The ability to listen to an audiobook while doing something else plays a large part in their growing popularity. Audiobook listeners are frequently keeping busy while listening – most commonly commuting, doing housework, cooking, exercising, or getting ready for bed.
But it’s not for everyone: 16.9% of Australian audiobook listeners use audiobooks without multitasking.
Fiction is the most popular audiobook genre
Overall, fiction was the most popular genre for audiobook listeners, with popular-genre fiction ranking most highly (56.3%). Australians audiobook listeners also listen to high rates of memoir (29%), and adapted comics and graphic novels were also popular at 15.1%.
Audiobook consumers are podcast consumers – along with other media
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is a strong correlation between audiobook and podcast listening – showing a potential entry-point for new audiobook listeners. ANU’s survey also found that respondents who ‘very often’ listen to audiobooks read print at a far higher rate too: readers who are voracious to read in one format also enjoy other formats.
Doubt remains over what ‘counts’ as reading
Interestingly, only 40% of Australians consider listening to an audiobook to ‘count’ as reading. 33.6% said they consider it to be more ‘listening’ as distinct from reading and the remaining 26.4% gave answers that were ambivalent, neutral or undetermined.
More frequent consumers of audiobooks were more likely to consider it reading – showing how frequency of reading overlaps with a sense of ‘reader identity’.
Read the full reports:
- Audiobook Reading in Australia: A Report on the Audiobooks and Digital Book Culture Survey (Australian National University, 2026)
- Creative Transformations: Results of the National Arts Participation Survey (Creative Australia, 2026)