Mediavision continuously tracks the Swedish book market, looking at how consumers choose to absorb books. On an average day in the first half of 2022 (January – June), just over 2.6 million 15–74-year-olds read or listened to books¹. Reading a printed book is still significantly more common than listening to an audiobook. Just over two million read a book on an average day, compared to one million who listened to an audiobook.

Mediavision’s analysis also shows that many book readers consume both printed books and audio books in parallel. The overlap is significant, as more than 40 percent of audiobook listeners say that they have also read a printed book during the same period.

– In general, book consumption in Sweden is strong, with over a third of 15–74-year-olds reading and/or listening to a book an average day. The digital transformation has brought forward new opportunities for consumption, which is clearly an advantage when the competition for our time spent on media increases, says Marie Nilsson, CEO at Mediavision.

¹ Includes all type of fiction, hence no non-fiction.