We mapped what 71 countries read, how much they read, and the one book that defines each nation. Click your country.
By books finished, the United States comes first at 17 a year, with Finland and India close behind on 16, but by time spent reading India leads every country at 10h 42m a week, nearly twice the global average, so the answer depends on whether you count books or hours.
Books per year are given for 66 countries and reading hours for 30, from the NOP World Culture Score Index and World Population Review, the sources listed at the foot of this page, and the map below lets you click through every country one by one.
Each country is colored by its most popular book genre. Click to explore reading hours, books per year, and the one iconic book that defines it.
At 10 hours 42 minutes per week, Indians spend nearly twice the global average reading. Thailand and China follow. The top 5 readers are all in Asia.
The US leads with 17 books per year. India drops to 16. Reading hours and books completed tell different stories. Long novels vs. short reads. Commute reading vs. deep reading.
Of the 36 countries with genre data, romance leads in 9. Fantasy dominates across central Europe. And poetry? It's the favorite in India, Philippines, Turkey, Canada, and Singapore.
5 countries prefer poetry over every other genre. India, the world's heaviest readers, choose verse. Meanwhile Finland, one of the most literate nations on earth, is all about detective fiction.
Colombia has One Hundred Years of Solitude. Japan has The Tale of Genji. Nigeria has Things Fall Apart. Some books don't just get read. They become a country's literary identity.
Browse all 71 countries. Filter by genre. Click any card for the full breakdown.