The reading population is gradually declining in Mexico. In the last twelve months, the literate population that is assumed to read books, magazines, newspapers, comics or Internet sites dropped from 71.8% of the population to 68.5% in 2023.
This reduction is observed in the data updated this Thursday by the Module on Reading (Molec), of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
Between 2016 and 2023, the percentage of the reading literate population in the country has decreased by 12.3% (it went from 80.6% to 68.5% of this sector), but during the last year this decrease has been the most pronounced in the last five years.
Within this survey, applied by the Inegi to a literate population of 18 years and older in a universe of 2,336 homes in 32 areas of the country, 71.7% of men declared having read some printed or digital material, while 65.7% of women were assumed as part of the reading population.
Although it is necessary to clarify that, if these numbers are compared with those released last year by Molec, the reduction in reading habits in the last 12 months has been more marked in the male population over 18 years of age.
In the last year, there was a 2.2% reduction in the female reading population over 18 years of age and a 4.4% drop in the male population.
To better understand the factors behind this decline, it is also necessary to specify that there is an evident reduction in the reading population according to age ranges. Broadly speaking, in the range of 18 and 24 years, 80.7% of the literate population declared themselves a reader, while in the range of 55 to 64 years the reading percentage is 56.1 percent. Between the intermediate ages of these ranges, the reduction is constant.
Fewer books in the last year
Specifically, regarding the reading habits of printed or digital books, 40.8% of the literate population over 18 years of age stated that they had read at least one book in the last 12 months.
Another interesting fact, although not positive, is that there is also an evident reduction in the number of books read in the last 12 months by the population declared as readers.
According to the Molec report, the literate population aged 18 and over read an average of 3.4 books between 2022 and 2023, which means that there was a reduction in the reading habit from one year to the next, considering that the previous report gave account of an average habit of 3.9 books read by this sector of the population.
In this way, the average number of books read in the last 12 months is equal to the average of the report for 2020 (also 3.4 books), that is, before the pandemic.
It was in the years 2021 and 2022 that an increase in the habit of reading books was reported, with averages of 3.7 and 3.9 titles, respectively. All this suggests that the periods of confinement during the pandemic boosted interest in books, while this habit was sacrificed for the return to face-to-face.
It is also interesting to observe the behavior of the habits of the last period according to age groups and type of reading material.
While in the range of 18 to 24 years many more Internet pages, forums or blogs are read (63%) and in second order printed books are preferred (54.2%), the percentages of habits on these two means of reading they invest as the age range advances. For example, for the population between 45 and 54 years of age, 30.4% of the population consulted read Internet sites and 31.3% prefer books. Already for the age range of 65 years and over, the preference for books is evident, with 36% compared to 10.6% of this sector that usually reads Internet pages, and even opts even more for other ways of reading, such as magazines (19%) and newspapers (19.8%).
Reasons not to read
Regarding the literate population that declared themselves non-readers, the study details that they did not receive sufficient stimuli for reading during childhood, contrary to the reading population.
Of the non-reading population, 83.0% stated that they did not take them to libraries or bookstores, 79.7% said that their parents or guardians did not read to them, 68.3% did not see their parents or guardians read, and 60.7% did not have books other than theirs. text at home For the reading population, the data are 62.0, 54.1, 38.5 and 29.4%, respectively.
Another item to highlight about the lack of reading habits is school. 59.5 of the non-reading population declared that in school during childhood they were not motivated to attend libraries. 46.7 stated that they were not asked to read books other than textbooks.
Literate population aged 18 or over, by type of reading (%)
- Books: 40.8
- Internet pages, forums, blogs: 37.7
- Magazines: 23.6
- Newspapers: 18.5
- Comics: 6.1
Non-reading population aged 18 and over, by sex:
- Men: 28.3%
- Women: 34.3%
