Reading

Our research into reading explores reading enjoyment, reading habits and reading motivation. It highlights how these have changed over time and how they are impacted by sociodemographic background, access to books and the home environment. Our Annual Literacy Survey has been tracking changes in enjoyment, attitudes to and behaviours in reading since 2005 and is the biggest study of its kind in the world.

We also explore book ownership, library provision and other issues around access to reading.

Key statistics in reading (2024 findings)

• Just 1 in 3 (34.6%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in 2024. This is the lowest level since we first asked the question in 2005.
• Only 1 in 5 (20.5%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they read daily, again, the lowest levels since 2005.
• Children and young people who enjoyed reading (n = 1,211; M = 109.13) had higher average (mean) standardised reading scores than children and young people who didn’t enjoy reading (n = 2,593; M = 102.65). This difference was statistically significant.

Read our 2024 reading research report in full.

Key statistics in book ownership (2023 findings)

• In 2023, 1 in 12 (8.6%) children and young people aged 5 to 18 said that they did not have a book of their own at home, while over 9 in 10 (91.4%) children and young people said that they did.
• 1 in 8 (12.4%) 8- to 18-year-olds who received free school meals (FSMs) told us that they did not have a book of their own.
  • This is double the percentage of their peers who did not receive FSMs (12.4% vs 5.8%).
  • The percentage-point (pp) gap in book ownership between children and young people who receive FSMs and their peers who do not (6.6 pp) is now at its largest in a decade.

Find out more.