Chinese readers show rising interest in digital books

TAIYUAN, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The year 2024 saw a rise in the number of adult readers accessing digital or audiobooks via electronic devices, according to a national reading survey.

The survey, launched by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, was released on the fourth National Conference on Reading held in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province.

Specifically, 78.7 percent of Chinese adult citizens reported engaging in digital reading via their mobile phones, while 38.5 percent listened to audiobooks as a way of reading in 2024. Both of these rates represent an increase on a year-on-year basis, according to the survey.

The survey also shows that last year, Chinese adult citizens on average read 4.79 physical books and 3.5 e-books per person respectively, both showing an upward trend compared to 2023.

Sun Shoushan, chairman of the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association, said that with improving policies and rapid development of digital technologies, both the market size and user base of digital reading in China have continued to reach new highs.

In China, digital reading evolved from a niche option into a daily habit for the public, while an ecosystem for reading that covers all age groups and various scenarios has been formed, said Sun.

According to a report also released at the National Conference on Reading, the number of digital reading users in China reached 670 million in 2024, marking a 17.52 percent year-on-year increase.

The overall revenue of China's digital reading market in 2024 amounted to 66.14 billion yuan (about 9 billion U.S. dollars), up 16.65 percent from a year earlier, according to the report. ■