This is a look at the books read per year, based on statistics from 2024, using metric sources from various different sites. Sources will be listed at the end of this article. Sources are primarily compiled up to March of 2025.

Ever wondered how your reading habits stack up against the rest of the world? Whether you’re a voracious bookworm or an occasional reader, the numbers might surprise you. Here’s a comprehensive look at the average number of books read per year—broken down by country, age, gender, and race—plus tips for tracking your own stats and making sense of your reading life.

A look at statistics in reading (and well, why not, have a beer with it too!).

By Country: Top 10 Countries

Based on surveys and aggregated data from 2024–2025, the average number of books read per person annually in the top 10 countries is as follows. Let’s start with a global snapshot. Here’s how the top 10 book-loving countries compare in average books read per person per year:

By Race/Ethnicity (U.S. Data)

• White Americans: Spend the most time reading, with higher daily averages than other groups.

• Asian Americans: Average about 17.4 minutes of reading per day.

• Hispanic Americans: Average only 6 minutes of reading per day.

• Black Americans: Data shows lower reading proficiency scores compared to White Americans, with disparities persisting post-pandemic.

While time spent reading does not directly equate to books finished, these differences in daily reading time and literacy performance suggest White and Asian Americans read more books on average per year than Black and Hispanic Americans.

By Age Bracket (U.S. Data)

• 18–29 years: 83% read at least one book per year, the highest among all age groups.

• 30–49 years: 73% read at least one book per year.

• 50–64 years: 70% read at least one book per year.

• 65+ years: 67% read at least one book per year.

Millennials (roughly corresponding to the 18–34 age group) are noted as the generation reading the most books, with high library usage and a preference for both print and digital formats.

By Gender (U.S. Data)

• Women: Consistently read more books than men. In recent surveys, 77% of women reported reading at least one book in the previous year, compared to 68% of men.

• Fiction Reading: The gap is even wider for fiction; in 2022, 46.9% of women read fiction compared to just 27.7% of men, a persistent 19-point difference over the last decade.

Overall: The gender gap in reading is widening, especially among younger generations, with women leading in both quantity and frequency of book reading.

Summary Table: U.S. Book Reading Percentages by Demographic

Key Insights

• The United States leads the world in average books read per year, followed closely by India and the United Kingdom.

Women, younger adults, and White/Asian Americans are the most active book readers in the U.S.

• The gender gap in reading persists and is growing, especially among younger generations.

Millennials are the most avid readers by age group.

Sources

A list of sources used to compile the above data and information:

• Average Books Read Per Year by Country 2025
• Ranked: Countries That Reads The Most Books, 2024
• Average daily time spent reading per capita in the United States from 2018 to 2023, by ethnicity (by hours)
• Exploring Reading Habits Across Demographics: A Data-Driven Analysis
• Share of adults who have read a book in any format in the last 12 months in the United States in 2019 and 2021, by age group
• The Men-Women Split in Reading is Real—and Persists Amid Historical Rate Declines

Some Other Literature Based Articles

• Literature and Libations: A Beer and Book Guide
• Philosophy and Craft Beer: A Confluence of Thought and Taste

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