Spaniards learn extra every single day, however purchase much less and fewer of their neighborhood bookstore | Culture | EUROtoday

Almost all of the information that the Barometer of Reading and Book Purchasing Habits in Spain in 2025 They are good. Starting with the truth that all of the Autonomous Communities learn greater than final yr and the nation, including readers for leisure and work, exceeds 70% of the inhabitants for the primary time because the research was carried out. “Today we not only present a report, but very good news. They tell us that Spain is a reading country. These are extraordinarily good data,” mentioned Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun within the presentation of the information this Thursday. But the books which might be learn are purchased much less and fewer in conventional bookstores: 4% lower than final yr. This means the identical share lower that occurred between 2017 and 2024.

Last night time Tipos Infames, some of the emblematic bookstores in Madrid, within the coronary heart of the Malasaña neighborhood, introduced its closure attributable to “gentrification.” “The closure of a bookstore is always bad news for the country as a whole. Administrations must implement measures against gentrification that endanger such important cultural structures,” mentioned Urtasun simply because the occasion started. The information introduced this Thursday in one other iconic bookstore, the Rafael Alberti – which turns 50 – exhibits that conventional bookstores are dropping prospects, particularly to bookstore chains, which develop by 3% in a single yr. Another share that, in comparison with the two% improve that they had from 2017 to 2024, acquires particular relevance and displays the true impression of the gentrification that’s being talked about.

But the damaging within the abstract of the yr stays there. Despite the continued decline since 2017, bookstores proceed to be, by far, the primary channel for buying non-textbooks with 40%, adopted by the web, with 24%, and bookstore chains with 16%.

Surely the most effective information that the barometer brings involves the world of comics, which consolidates nice development to succeed in 14.3% of readers, which represents a development of 38% in comparison with 2020. A pattern that aligns with the worldwide development of the style, which skyrocketed, exactly, the yr of the pandemic. Last yr the worldwide comics market reached a measurement of about 15.2 billion euros, in accordance with estimates by the consulting agency Gran View Research.

The remainder of the information hardly exhibits any modifications in comparison with final yr. The share of readers who learn for leisure of their free time is 66.2%, one other report, however simply 1% greater than final yr. All the outcomes, nonetheless, are influenced by an apparent however vital issue: the extra time you could have, the extra you learn. Among those that don’t learn or learn little, lack of time continues to be the primary barrier (42%). This partly explains why younger individuals between 14 and 24 years outdated proceed to be those who learn probably the most, with a share of 76.9%. “Woman, young, university student and who lives in a city”, that continues to be probably the most recurring profile of the reader in Spain, which has not modified for years. Adults over 65 years of age additionally learn extra, reaching 58%, a notable improve of 13 factors in comparison with 2017. “This is a completely political fact,” mentioned Urtasun, “the main obstacle to reading in our country is time. Defending reading is defending the right to one’s own time, to rest and to a healthier life. The age groups that are freer with their time read more.”