In times dominated by constant screens and notifications, sitting down to read a book seems a gesture of resistance. Even so, the Peru is among the five countries with higher levels of reading in Latin Americawith an average of 3.3 books read per inhabitant per year, according to report 2024 of the Regional Center for the Promotion of Book in Latin America and the Caribbean (Cerlalc).
However, the data of the Ministry of Culture They reveal a less encouraging panorama: less than half of Peruvians have read a book in the last year.
According to the Cerlalc report, Argentina leads the region with an average of 5.4 books read per inhabitant per year, followed by Chile (4,5), Peru (3,3)Brazil (2,5) and Mexico (1.7). The Peruvian position in this ranking shows a growing interest, but also raises challenges about real access to books and reading spaces, especially outside the big cities.
According to the 2022 national Reading Survey (LIT)prepared by the Ministry of Culture and INEI, allows you to observe in more detail the reading habits in the country. The study covered more than 67 thousand people between 0 and 64 years throughout the national territory.
One of the most striking findings is that the contents most read by the population aged 18 to 64 are digital texts (82.7 %)such as publications in social networks, emails and web pages. Only 47.3 % reported having read at least one book – impreso or digital – during the previous year.
In addition, the national average reading of books is at 2022, in 1.9 books per person per year, a fairly low figure if compared to the averages of other countries in the region.
The main reason for reading in general was to be informed about the present (58.3 %), followed by pleasure or entertainment (42.8 %). An important gender gap was also evidenced: 34.1 % of women read to support the study or entertainment of their children or other people, compared to only 15.6 % of men who declare the same.
Regarding reading spaces, The home remains the most frequent place: 94.5 % of readers read at home, while 30.3 % do so in their workplace.
In that line, the age group that reads the most books is 18 to 29 years (58.9 %). Women also lead in this field: the 51.5 % of them declared having read bookscompared to 43.2 % of men. The most read book is the literary (novels, stories, comics or poetry), with a 36.3 % preference, followed by school or university textbooks (31.1 %).
The main criteria for choosing a book was the subject (68.5 %), while the lack of time (68.3 %) was the most mentioned reason for not reading.
Access to reading development spaces remains limited. Only 6.5 % of adults between 18 and 64 attended a physical library and 14 % of book fairs or festivals in 2022. In rural areas, these percentages decrease even more.
Among children and adolescents, the panorama is more encouraging: 78.7 % of minors between 0 and 17 years read or read books. It also emphasizes that 34.5 % participated in school library activities, face -to -face or virtually.
Despite the advances and being well positioned in the region, Peru still has a pending debt to reading. The implementation of the National Reading Policy, The Book and Libraries at 2030 It is a key step to close gaps and encourage an inclusive, diverse and accessible reading culture.
International Book Day is an opportunity not only to celebrate our authors, but also to ask how we can make reading really part of the daily life of all Peruvians.
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