A new survey that was released recently states that New Zealand people love to read. 87% of the overall population has read a book in 2025, which is a slight increase from 85% in 2021. Audiobooks have seen the strongest growth and e-books continue to appeal towards a large demographic.
Another significant finding is that 84% of males had read a book in the past year, up from 79% in 2021. A greater proportion of women are still readers than men, with 90% of women self-reporting as readers. The survey also tells us that those under 35 are more likely to engage with e-books and audiobooks than any other age.
60% of readers read e-Books, a significant increase from 55% in 2021. Few read e-books only – 4% in 2025; 2% in 2021. 20% read print and e-books, significantly down from 29% in 2021. The biggest increase in New Zealand is digital audibooks. 43% saying they listen to audio books. This is significantly up from 31% in 2021. In 2021, 24% of readers said they read a combination of print, e-books and audio books. In 2025, this has increased significantly to 34%.
You can read the full report HERE.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.