What Percentage of Iranians Read Books?

According to the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), this survey was conducted in the third week of Aban 1404 (November 2025) via telephone, with the participation of 1,234 citizens aged 18 and above, providing a clear picture of Iranians’ reading habits, reading rates, and content preferences.

Based on the findings of this survey, 41.1% of people read books, while 58.9% stated they do not. The average daily reading time for non-academic books among readers is 26.6 minutes, which drops to 10.9 minutes per day when considering the entire population.

Novels and Stories: The Most Popular Topic Among Readers

One of the most prominent findings of this report is the dominance of novels and stories among reading topics. According to the results, 21.2% of readers dedicate most of their reading to novels and stories; followed by historical books (15.4%), psychology and educational books (14.7%), and specialized books (14.5%).

Interest in Print Books Remains Strong

In the section concerning book formats, 52.4% of individuals primarily read printed and paper books. E-books (18.5%) and audiobooks (11.7%) rank next.

Average Purchase of 11 Books Per Year

Individuals who read books purchase an average of 11 books per year (paper, electronic, or audio). Additionally, about 22.1% spend over two million Tomans annually on books.

Reading One Complete Book Per Week: An Experience for 41% of Respondents

In response to a question about their most recent complete book read, 41.7% stated they had read a book entirely within the past week.

Lack of Time: The Most Significant Barrier to Reading

Nearly half of the respondents (49.7%) cited lack of time as the primary barrier to reading. Mental fatigue and the high cost of books rank next.

Two Main Solutions for Improving Reading Habits

In response to the question ‘What factor has the most impact on increasing reading culture?’, people cited the absence of financial and livelihood concerns (35.3%) and easy and affordable access to books (21.8%) as the most important factors.

The full report is available here.