Australians are reading less than other countries, a new report shows. Why?

Recent international research shows Australians are buying and reading fewer books than people in many other countries. But why?

A report by the European and International Book Federation found that only 64% of Australians bought a book in the past year, compared to an average 72% of people across 19 countries.

Similarly, 80% of Australians read a book in the past year, slightly below the international average of 85%. These differences are slim, but as book buyers and readers, we are among the lowest in the sample, alongside Aotearoa New Zealand, Finland, Latvia and the United States.

The number of people who had read a book in the past year in Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Ireland all came in at over 90%.

Local research also suggests reading rates in Australia are falling. Back in 2017, a Macquarie University study found 92% of us read books at least once in the previous year. By 2021, in the Australia Reads national survey that figure had dropped to 75%.

What’s behind these numbers?

Price might be less of a factor than we often assume – and surprisingly, Australia’s dependence on cars could play a role. International examples showing how other countries protect and value their book cultures –  from government policies to counter the strength of Amazon to public holidays for poets – suggest measures to actively boost our own could help.

The price myth

There’s a general perception that books cost too much in Australia. But they’re not necessarily more expensive here than elsewhere. Competition from online retailers like Amazon and increases in production costs globally have levelled prices internationally.

In fact, Australians often pay similar or less for books than readers in Canada, New Zealand and the US.

Tim Winton’s new novel, Juice, for example, has an Australian recommended retail price of A$49.99. It’s almost exactly the same price in Aotearoa New Zealand (A$49.81) and costs more in Canada (A$54.59). In the US, Juice is A$44.02, and in the UK, it’s A$43.07.

While UK book prices are lower, this is mainly because books there don’t attract sales tax. The UK made books exempt from its value-added tax (VAT) applied to most goods and services – a deliberate decision to make reading more affordable.

Pauline MacLeod, the children’s and young adult literature specialist at Brisbane’s Riverbend Books, told me children’s publishers are “trying hard to keep local books priced between $22.99 and $25.99”. Still, in the current cost of living squeeze books are a discretionary spend some cannot afford.

Public transport is good for reading

Interestingly, countries where more people use public transport – like the UK, France, Germany and Spain – tend to have higher reading rates. It’s easier to read a book on a train than in a car, and these countries often have bookshops in train stations, creating a culture of reading while commuting.

In contrast, car-dependent countries like Australia, the US and Aotearoa New Zealand show lower reading rates. Our reliance on cars might explain why audiobooks are more popular in Australia than in many other countries.

A holiday for a poet

In Ireland, where 91% of people have read a book in the past 12 months, there is a strong cultural history of storytelling. Reading is supported by an arts council providing grants and bursaries, and a healthy ecosystem of literary festivals and magazines, public libraries and bookshops.

Australia has many of these things, but Ireland also significantly supports writers, with a tax exemption on artists’ income up to €50,000 (approximately A$81,500) and a basic-income pilot scheme granting 2,000 artists €325 (approximately A$530) a week.

In France, where the government actively protects its reading culture, 88% of people have read a book in the past 12 months. In 2022, France introduced a law to make French bookshops more competitive with online retailers like Amazon which often offer free delivery of books. By setting a minimum delivery fee for all online book orders of less than €35 (around A$57), the government aims to level the playing field for local booksellers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, only 5% of French people buy all their books online (as opposed to 12% in Australia).

Australia has public holidays dedicated to sports, like the Melbourne Cup and the AFL Grand Final (both in Victoria). In Portugal, a national holiday, Portugal Day, commemorates the death of poet Luís de Camões, considered Portugal’s greatest.

While 85% of Portuguese people have read a book in the past 12 months (exactly the international average), they consider reading as one of their hobbies (37%) and have bought a book in the past year (76%) at rates above the international average.

Interestingly, just 32% of Australians said they consider reading a hobby, compared to 44% in Spain and 42% in the UK.

Families, the education system and the media are also all key to inculcating this culture of reading, as is a strong local publishing industry.

The way forward

Local booksellers report declining reading rates in Australia, too. Robbie Egan, CEO of Australia’s peak bookselling industry body, BookPeople, told me: “The competition for eyeballs is real and it is fierce, and consumer discretionary dollars are scarce”. Industry leaders like Egan suggest we need a national campaign to promote the benefit of reading.

We know from local research that Australians value books and storytelling. With increasing competition from other forms of entertainment and tighter household budgets, encouraging a stronger reading culture may be more important than ever.

Katya Johanson has received funding from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and the Australian Research Council for research towards this article.