Bucking the trend: New Zealanders still love to read

The latest National Reading Survey commissioned by Read NZ Te Pou Muramura reveals that despite a bleak international backdrop, our reading rates are remaining steady - and even increasing in some areas.

The 2025 survey, conducted by Horizon Research, shows a slight increase in the number of adults who have read a book in the last year: 87%, equivalent to around 3,359,000 New Zealand adults.

This is a slight rise from 85% in 2021, with the data since 2017 remaining relatively steady overall. 

“We’re very pleased to see that reading rates amongst New Zealanders are so stable overall,” says Juliet Blyth, Read NZ Te Pou Muramura CEO.

“It counteracts many of the international narratives we hear about reading for pleasure in decline, and demonstrates that Aotearoa is still a nation of readers.”

More males reading

Another significant finding is that 84% of males had read a book in the past year, up from 79% in 2021.

A greater proportion of women are still readers than men, with 90% of women self-reporting as readers.

But the rise in male readers is heartening, says Juliet. “In the past we’ve designed campaigns and advocacy to specifically address male readers because it’s perceived as such an issue, so this shift is encouraging.”

The survey shows that males are more likely to read e-books or audiobooks than females, and the number of males reading in reo Māori or Pasifika languages is likewise higher.

Fewer 18-24 year-olds reading

The outlier segment of the research, with a drop from 87% having read a book in the past year to 82%, is the 18-24 year old demographic.

“This is an interesting shift,” Juliet notes, “as last time we surveyed more of this age group were reading than people aged between 25 and 44.”

The survey also tells us that those under 35 are more likely to engage with e-books and audiobooks than any other age. They are significantly more likely to gain recommendations for books on Instagram or BookTok, or to discuss books on social media.

“This is an interesting result in terms of underpinning our thinking about the different ways in which young people are now engaging with books,” says Juliet.

39% of 18-24 year olds told us they ‘don’t like reading’—which Read NZ says is a great challenge for us as an organisation.

Biggest rise: non-traditional formats

The National Reading Survey also indicates an uptake of reading in non-traditional formats across many age groups, with 43% of respondents indicating they read audiobooks.

This is the biggest increase throughout the data, up from 31% in 2021. It’s not, though, necessarily at the expense of print, with 34% indicating they read a combination of print, eBook, and audio formats.

Poetry more popular

“Another very pleasing facet of the research is the rise in poetry reading,” Juliet notes. 32% (1,253,000 adult New Zealanders) have read a poetry book all or part way through in the past 12 months, a significant increase from 25% in 2021.

“This was a particularly popular genre category with under 35s, with 39% reading poetry.” “It’s again a marker of the ways in which our reading culture is shifting, and highlights the importance of research like this: to understand not only what people are reading, but how books are perceived in Aotearoa.” 

For more information, please contact:

Sarah Dillon Communications and Engagement Manager Read NZ Te Pou Muramura communications@read-nz.org 027 314 2624 

Graeme Colman, Principal, Horizon Research, email gcolman@horizonresearch.co.nz, telephone 021 848 576.