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UK Kids' Pleasure Reading Plummets to 25%, Parents Demand More

4/29/2026

29 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

UK children 5-17 reading for pleasure fell from 39% (2012) to 25% (2025).
Rarely/never readers rose from 5% to 15%.
Never-readers 14-17 fell from 36% to 30% in 2024-2025.
BookTok and YouTube discovery rose (23%->27% and 25%->30%) while book-cool sentiment fell 45%->38% among 14-17-year-olds in 2024-2025.
Parents of 13-under report 71% want more reading time (up from 65% 2019) and 41% deem pleasure reading more important.

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Story summary

UK children 5-17 reading for pleasure fell from 39% (2012) to 25% (2025).
Rarely/never readers rose from 5% to 15%.
Never-readers 14-17 fell from 36% to 30% in 2024-2025.
BookTok and YouTube discovery rose (23%->27% and 25%->30%) while book-cool sentiment fell 45%->38% among 14-17-year-olds in 2024-2025.
Parents of 13-under report 71% want more reading time (up from 65% 2019) and 41% deem pleasure reading more important.