Books: only four out of 10 Sardinians read at least one a year
Better numbers on the island than in the other regions of the South, but the percentages of the other EU nations are very far away
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In Italy less than four out of 10 people read at least one book a year for reasons not related to school or work.
These are the – dramatic – data provided by Istat on the reading habits of Italians. Data that further collapse in the South, with the exception of Sardinia, the only region among those in the South-Islands area that roughly aligns with the national average.
THE DATA - In detail, in 2022, 39.3% of people over the age of six had read at least one book in the last year for reasons other than strictly academic or professional (there were 40.8% in 2021). On the island the percentage is 40%.
The habit of reading, as mentioned, is more widespread in the central-northern regions: in 2022 46.3% of people residing in the north-west read at least one book, 45.8% of those in the north-east and 42.4% of those who live in the Centre. Much lower numbers, as we mentioned, in the South, where the share of readers is 27.9% (24% in Sicily).
IN THE EU – The Italian numbers, as mentioned, are increasingly alarming, especially when compared with data from other European nations. Any examples? On average, a Norwegian reads 15 books a year; in Spain (2018 data) 67% of citizens over the age of 14 read it at least every three months, in Germany 6 out of 10 people read at least one a month.
LIBRARIES – Among the southern regions , Sardinia holds even in terms of the number of library visitors : on the island, use is equal to 11.5% of the population against an average of 5.7% recorded in the other southern regions. The use of libraries is also higher in this case in the northern regions (13.9%). In the Centre, the percentage is 9.2%).
THE IDENTIKIT OF THOSE WHO READ – The gender difference is relevant, underlines Istat: the percentage of female readers is 44%, that of male readers is 34.3%.
Again: 17.4% of people aged 6 and over are "weak" readers (they read a maximum of 3 books in a year), 15.4% are "average" readers (3-11 books in a year). Lastly, only 6.4% are "strong" readers (at least 12 books in the last year).
Still looking at the national data, the highest share of readers is observed among young people up to 24 years of age, with the highest peaks between 11 and 14 (57.1%).
By far, the audience most fond of reading is represented by girls aged 11-14, among whom more than 6 out of 10 have read at least one book in the year.
INVITATION TO READ - An invitation to read arrived yesterday from the Regional Councilor for Culture Andrea Biancareddu , on the occasion of the inauguration of the Sardinia Region stand at the Turin Book Fair : «In a now arid world, where one no longer dreams, the book makes us dream. Reading a book relaxes, lowers the heartbeat, improves memory, enriches us with knowledge. So an extraordinary message, in this difficult moment, addressed to minors but also to adults, to read. Have a book as a friend », the councilor launched a message.
