Majority of Maltese don’t read books, survey finds

The majority of Maltese people don’t read any books, according to a newly-published survey which shows that 55% of the population have not even read one book in the past year.

Out of the readers, 9.3% said that they have read just one book in the past year while 35.1% said that they have read more than one book.

The most popular books amongst readers are romance books, chosen as a favourite genre by 19.1% of readers, which included 28.1% of elderly people aged 65 years and older. This was followed by mystery, thriller and horror books, which was chosen by 14.6% of readers, and biographies and autobiographies, chosen by 11.3%.

The survey was carried out by the National Statistics office, Arts Council Malta and the V18 Foundation amongst a sample of 1,500 people.

It also indicates that 67% of Maltese people listen to music every day – including 87% of the 16-24 age group and 79% of the 25-34 age group. Radio remains the most popular medium for music listening, picked by 66.8% of respondents but only 31.2% of people aged between 16 and 24.

This was followed by MP3, digital libraries and online streaming, selected by  25.3% of the population and 60.6% of the youths.

The most popular type of music is pop with 25%, followed by rock with 13% and classic, lyric, opera or operetta with 12%. The least popular was folk and world music with 4%.

91% of people attended a cultural activity

The survey also found out that some 91% of Malta’s adult population attended a cultural activity in the past year, with the most popular activity being parish feasts with a 67% attendance.

Elsewhere, 42% said they had been to the cinema at least once in the past year, while 35% said that they had visited a historical site, and 30% said they had visited a museum.

Theatre attendance stood at 32%, with comedy registered as the favourite genre, while concerts also registered an attendance of 34%, art exhibitions registered an attendance of 31%, and dance performances a meagre 12%.