It has been found that almost one third of the population of Iceland reads a book every day, with the population reading or listening to an average of 2.4 books a month.
The study’s aims was to find out more about the country’s attitude towards reading. The survey was put together by The Center for Icelandic Literature in collaboration with the Reykjavík City Library, the Icelandic Publishers’ Association, Hagþenkir – The Association of Non Fiction and Educational Writers in Iceland, The National Library, the University Library, Reykjavík City of Literature, UNESCO and the Icelandic Association of Literature Authors.
According to the survey, women read more than men and the elderly read more than the youth. The average number of books read per month has gone from 2.3 books in 2021 to 2.4 books in 2022.
Roughly 65% of the population exclusively read in Icelandic, which is a change from last year’s survey, with that being around 58%.
Since the beginning of 2022, over a third of the population has used the public library, with women visiting the library more than men.