site.btaOver 43% of Bulgarians Have Not Read Single Book in 2024 - Survey

Over 43% of Bulgarians have not read a single book in 2024, and 75% have not visited a library even once last year, show data from a representative sociological survey on "Access to Culture", covering over 1,000 people. The results were presented at an event on Thursday at the Goethe Institute in Sofia.

The data were reported by Svetlana Lomeva, director of the Sofia Development Association, Diana Andreeva-Popyordanova, director of the Observatory of the Economy of Culture and Yanina Taneva from Ideas Factory.

The study shows that 63% have not been to the theatre, 56.1% have not been to a movie theater, and 82.7% have not attended a classical music, opera, or ballet concert in 2024. Last year, the average Bulgarian read 8-9 books. Compared to previous years, this percentage is decreasing. In 2022, the number of books read per person was between 9 and 10, the project team noted.

“It is a sad joy for us to present the trends we see in consumption and participation in culture,” said Taneva. She noted that since the study has been conducted for the third year in a row, it is entitled “The Right to Culture Index,” which measures what the obstacles are, what their nature is, so that they can be addressed.

Among the reasons for not attending cultural events, 40% of the respondents in the survey indicated the answer "it's expensive", 37% answered that they don't have time, 25.4% that they don't have access (they live in a settlement where such events are not held, for example), 16% answered that they don't like cultural events, 13.7% answered "I don't have company", and 3.8% chose the answer "Other".

Andreeva-Popyordanova noted that among the recommendations they make for changing these data and trends is a cultural passport for people from 6 to 26 years old for cultural activities. This is about 1 million and 300 thousand people, she indicated.

Another such discussion is coming up, where data for only Sofia will be presented, the organizers of the initiative said.

The national representative sociological survey Access to Culture is organized by the Ideas Factory together with the Observatory of the Economy of Culture - in partnership and with the financial support of the Sofia Development Association, implemented by the sociological agency Alpha Research.