How Many Books Does An Average American Read?

According to several surveys, the average American reads 12-14 books per year. However, this includes books that people might start but not necessarily finish. The median suggests that the average American completes about 4-5 books per year. These numbers have been on a slight decline in recent years, revealing that the act of reading for pleasure may be facing challenges.

Here are some more interesting and relevant stats (between 2022 and 2023):

• GenZ readers completed more than 3.52 books, and Millenials read 4.38 full books on average.
• Older generations more regularly complete their books compared to GenX adults and Boomers.
• Only 8.49% of GenZ Americans read 11+ books during the period while 45.93% of Boomers read 4+ books in a year.
• 65% of Americans have read at least one print book during the same period.
• 30% of Americans read at least one ebook, and 23% of them have listened to at least one audiobook.
• 32% of Americans read only print books, 33% read books in both print and digital formats, while 9% use digital formats exclusively.
• 51.57% of American adults haven’t read a whole print book or an ebook.
• Reading is contagious – our survey shows that people who complete reading at least one book are unlikely to stop there – only 1.55% of readers read only one full book.

Stats from around the world

• The average Chinese citizen reads around 7.49 books per year, 4.65 of which are physical books and 2.84 are digital books.
• 86% of New Zealanders have at least started to read at least one book over the last 12 months.
• French citizens read around 17 books per year on average, and 88% of them read to at least some extent.
• 70.5% of South Africans have read at least once for pleasure over the past year.
• The average Canadian citizen reads around 17 books per year.
• In South America, people read between 1.6 and 5.3 books per year.
• 29.9 million Germans bought a book over the past year – in 2013, over 36.5 million Germans bought a book.
• 70.5% of South Africans have read at least once for pleasure over the past year.

Several factors lead to varying reading habits, and these factors typically include time to read books, accessibility, shifting preferences, income levels, and educational background.