Mid-century print
1960
Literacy
55%
Literate adults
~1.7B
Books, newspapers and radio dominate information consumption.
A book on the nightstand. A newspaper at breakfast. The radio in the corner. Reading is the default.
The reading population, decade by decade
Sources: UNESCO, Our World in Data. Literate population estimated from world adult population × literacy rate.
Books, newspapers and radio dominate information consumption.
A book on the nightstand. A newspaper at breakfast. The radio in the corner. Reading is the default.
Mass education expands; paperback publishing grows.
Global book market and public library access expand.
Reading population reaches unprecedented scale.
The internet begins competing seriously for attention.
The first great attention competitor arrives: infinite pages, one click away.
Smartphones, social media and ebooks reshape reading habits.
More people can read than ever, but attention is fragmented across streaming and short-form video.
In the US, adults reading a book for pleasure fell from 61% (1992) to 49% (2022). Daily reading among 17–18-year-olds fell from 60% (late 1970s) to 16% (2016).
Nearly 9 in 10 adults globally are literate.