Digital reading spans e-books, audiobooks, online purchasing and reading on digital platforms, but the measures are not interchangeable. The latest U.S. survey data show broad participation alongside continued print use, while European purchase data and international assessment results describe different parts of the subject.
Key Digital Reading Statistics
The following figures summarize participation, purchasing, reading volume and assessed digital-reading performance:
- In October 2025, 31% of U.S. adults read an e-book during the previous 12 months.
- In October 2025, 26% of U.S. adults listened to an audiobook during the previous 12 months.
- In October 2025, 75% of U.S. adults read a book in any format during the previous 12 months.
- In October 2025, 64% of U.S. adults read a print book during the previous 12 months.
- The U.S. adult e-book reading share rose from 17% in 2011 to 31% in 2025.
- The U.S. adult print-book reading share fell from 72% in 2011 to 64% in 2025.
- In October 2025, 78% of U.S. women read a book during the previous year.
- In October 2025, 41% of U.S. adults aged 18–29 read an e-book during the previous year.
- In October 2025, 42% of Asian U.S. adults read an e-book during the previous year.
- In October 2025, 88% of U.S. adults with a college degree read a book during the previous year.
- In October 2025, 25% of U.S. adults read no books during the previous year.
- In 2023, 7.2% of EU residents bought an e-book online.
- In 2023, 22.0% of residents in Denmark bought an e-book online.
- In 2022, 47.2% of EU individuals reported reading no books during the previous 12 months.
- In 2022, 60.2% of EU individuals aged 16–29 read at least one book during the previous 12 months.
- In PISA 2009, Korean 15-year-olds recorded a mean composite reading score of 553.
- In PISA 2009, the average gender difference was 31 points in favor of girls on the composite reading scale.
- In PISA 2009, the country-level correlation between relevant pages visited and digital-reading score was 0.98.
- Across 35 comparable OECD countries, mean PISA reading performance fell 25 points from 2018 to 2025.
Contents
- U.S. e-book and audiobook participation
- Digital reading by demographic group
- Reading volume and digital reading trends
- European e-book purchasing data
- Digital and print reading performance
- Navigation, proficiency and performance gaps
U.S. Digital Reading Statistics: E-Book and Audiobook Participation
Pew Research Center reported that 31% of U.S. adults read an e-book and 26% listened to an audiobook in the previous 12 months in October 2025. These are self-reported annual measures, and audiobook listening is not identical to reading digital text. Pew Research Center: Do Americans read print books, e-books or audiobooks more?
| U.S. adults’ reading activity | October 2025 | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Read a book in any format | 75% | Previous 12 months |
| Read a print book | 64% | Previous 12 months |
| Read an e-book | 31% | Previous 12 months |
| Listened to an audiobook | 26% | Previous 12 months |
The categories overlap, so they should not be added to estimate a total population. The 75% any-format figure includes print books, e-books and audiobooks, while the separate format measures indicate participation rather than exclusive preference.
The same Pew trend comparison shows e-book reading increasing from 17% of U.S. adults in 2011 to 31% in 2025. Print-book reading moved in the opposite direction, from 72% in 2011 to 64% in 2025; the comparison does not show which individuals changed formats.
Digital Reading by Age, Gender, Race and Education
Pew’s October 2025 results show different levels of book and format participation across demographic groups. All figures below are self-reported and refer to the previous year.
| U.S. group | Any book | E-book | Audiobook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 71% | 60% | 28% | 24% |
| Women | 78% | 68% | 33% | 27% |
| Age 18–29 | 78% | 66% | 41% | 32% |
| Age 30–49 | 76% | 64% | 33% | 33% |
| Age 50–64 | 71% | 61% | 26% | 23% |
| Age 65+ | 73% | 65% | 23% | 13% |
Women recorded higher participation than men in each listed measure: 78% versus 71% for any book, 68% versus 60% for print, 33% versus 28% for e-books and 27% versus 24% for audiobooks. Among age groups, adults aged 18–29 had the highest e-book share at 41%, while adults aged 65 and older had the lowest audiobook share at 13%.
Race and education also show distinct patterns. Among Asian U.S. adults, 42% read an e-book, compared with 30% among White U.S. adults; Pew notes that its Asian estimate represents English speakers only.
| U.S. group | Any book | E-book | Audiobook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White adults | 77% | 67% | 30% | 27% |
| Asian adults | 70% | 53% | 42% | 24% |
| High school or less | 60% | 50% | 20% | 17% |
| Some college | 78% | 67% | 30% | 27% |
| College degree | 88% | 76% | 42% | 35% |
The education gradient is especially visible in overall book participation: 60% among adults with a high-school education or less, 78% among those with some college experience and 88% among college graduates. The groupings and race definitions are those used by Pew, and the format categories overlap. Pew Research Center: Do Americans read print books, e-books or audiobooks more?
Digital Reading Trends and Book-Reading Volume
Format participation does not reveal how many books people read. In October 2025, 25% of U.S. adults reported reading no books in the previous year, while 38% read one to five, 13% read six to 10 and 14% read more than 20; the measure does not specify format.
These categories describe self-reported book volume, not digital reading time. Pew also reported that 10% of U.S. women and 5% of U.S. men participated in a book club during the previous year, a related activity rather than a digital-reading measure. Pew Research Center: Do Americans read print books, e-books or audiobooks more?
Eurostat’s 2022 EU reading measure includes e-books and audiobooks but excludes school textbooks and work manuals. It found that 47.2% of EU individuals read no books in the previous 12 months.
| EU reading measure | 2022 result | Population or denominator |
|---|---|---|
| Read no books | 47.2% | All individuals |
| Read no books | 52.9% | Individuals aged 65+ |
| Read at least one book | 60.2% | Individuals aged 16–29 |
| Read at least five books | 28.5% | Individuals aged 16–29 |
| Read at least five books | 26.9% | Individuals aged 55–65 |
| Read at least five books | 24.9% | Individuals aged 30–54 |
Among EU non-readers, 51.3% cited lack of interest and 2.4% cited lack of access to books or ability to afford them. Lack of time was cited by 21.8% of non-readers aged 16–29 and 6.4% of non-readers aged 65 and over; these denominators are non-readers, not all people in the age groups. Eurostat: Living conditions in Europe – life satisfaction and quality of life
European Union E-Book Purchasing Statistics
Online purchasing is a market-access measure, not a direct measure of reading. Eurostat reported that 7.2% of EU residents bought an e-book online in 2023, up from 6.6% in 2022.
| Geography | Online e-book purchase share | Period |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | 7.2% | 2023 |
| European Union | 6.6% | 2022 |
| Denmark | 22.0% | 2023 |
| Netherlands | 21.6% | 2023 |
| Ireland | 16.9% | 2023 |
| Cyprus | 0.6% | 2023 |
Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland had higher reported online e-book purchasing shares than the EU aggregate in 2023, while Cyprus had a much lower share. The measure does not include digital reading obtained through borrowing, libraries, subscriptions or other routes, and it does not establish how often purchased books were read. Eurostat: Online purchases: printed books preferred to ebooks
Digital and Print Reading Performance in International Assessments
PISA 2009 assessed 15-year-olds using a composite scale that equally combined digital and print reading. The results are assessment scores, not measures of e-book adoption.
| Country | Mean composite reading score | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 553 | PISA 2009 |
| New Zealand | 529 | PISA 2009 |
| Australia | 526 | PISA 2009 |
| Japan | 520 | PISA 2009 |
| France | 495 | PISA 2009 |
| Colombia | 390 | PISA 2009 |
The average gender difference on the composite reading scale was 31 points in favor of girls across OECD countries and partner economies. The average gap was 24 points in digital reading and 38 points in print reading; in New Zealand the composite advantage for girls was 43 points, and in Norway it was 41 points.
These are cross-sectional assessment associations, not causal effects. OECD: PISA 2009 Results: Students on Line – Volume VI
Digital Reading Navigation, Proficiency and Performance Gaps
PISA 2009 also recorded how students navigated assessment tasks. Korean students visited an average of 53 relevant pages, compared with 31 among Colombian students; across participating countries and economies, mean visits to relevant pages ranged from 44 in Colombia to 74 in Korea.
Mean page visits ranged from 58 in Colombia to 100 in Macao-China. The standard deviation of relevant pages visited ranged from 7.3 in Korea to 11.5 in Hungary, describing variation during the test rather than population reading behavior.
The country-level Pearson correlation between mean relevant pages visited and mean digital-reading score was 0.98. Regression coefficients predicting digital-reading performance from page visits ranged from 0.26 in Korea to 1.26 in Austria, with an average of 0.92 across participating OECD countries; the models adjusted for print-reading proficiency, and the coefficients are associations rather than causal effects. OECD: PISA 2009 Results: Students on Line – Volume VI
More recent PISA trend data provide broader reading-literacy context. Across 35 OECD countries with comparable data, mean reading performance fell 11 points from 2018 to 2022 and another 14 points from 2022 to 2025; 56 of 74 comparable participating countries and economies showed significant declines from 2018 to 2025, while five improved significantly.
These PISA 2025 results are broad reading assessments, not direct measures of e-book use, device ownership or digital reading time. OECD: Trends in reading scores over three PISA cycles (2018-2025): PISA 2025 Results (Volume I)