China is reading more

According to the report, the average reading rate in China is on the rise, in both print and digital media.

The report shows that the rate of reading printed books was 58.0 percent in 2014, which is up 0.2 percentage points compared with the figure in 2013. Reading rates for digital publications is 58.1 percent (up 8 percentage points), and comprehensive reading rate of all media is 78.6 percent (up 1.9 percentage points).

On average, in 2014, Chinese people read 4.56 books, 65.03 newspapers, 6.07 magazines and 3.22 digital publications. The figure is higher for younger respondents, as those in the 0 to 17 age group read 8.45 books annually (a rise of 1.48 books).

For families with children less than 8 years of age, 88.8 percent of parents had the habit of reading with children and on average spent 23.64 minutes a day reading with their kids.

The durations Chinese adults spend on reading traditional and new media both increased.

On average, Chinese adults read newspapers for 18.8 minutes a day, an increase of 3.3 minutes from last year. Time spent reading books was 18.76 minutes (up by 5.33 minutes) and that for magazines 13.42 minutes (up 3.37 minutes).

For new media, Chinese nationals spent 54.87 minutes on the Internet, an increase of 4.09 minutes compared to figures in 2013. The average daily duration spent reading on mobile phones was 33.82 minutes, a drastic hike by 12.12 minutes compared with 2013.

Nearly 90 percent of adults who read through digital media portals were under the age of 49, and traditional paper print was still the most preferred media for reading (chosen by nearly 60 percent of respondents).

Nearly 40 percent of respondents said they read less than they would like to and approximately 70 percent of them wanted local governments to organize regular reading activities.

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