Reading for pleasure is on the decline in the UK — but it’s boys and young men who are switching off the fastest.
According to a recent National Literacy Trust, a UK based literacy charity’s survey, just one in three children (34.6%) said they enjoy reading, and only one in five (20.5%) read daily. These are the lowest figures recorded since the trust started measuring in 2005.
The results show a growing gender gap. In 2024, only 28.2% of boys said they enjoy reading, compared to 40.5% of girls. That’s a 40.3% drop for boys and a 34.2% drop for girls compared to 2014, when 47.2% of boys and 61.6% of girls said they liked reading.
Emma Tait, Senior Lecturer in Publishing at Kingston University, said: “There’s always been fewer boy readers than girl readers, and that’s getting worse. I think there are issues for the industry to look at in terms of what sort of books are being commissioned and how you persuade children that they’re relevant and interesting for them.”
This chart from the National Literacy Trust clearly shows a downward trend over the last decade — especially for boys.
“Particularly for boys, there’s not that much there to appeal to them. I think the YA category is poorly defined — it’s trying to cover too wide an age range — and younger teenage boys especially are falling through the cracks,” said Tait.
There are some signs of growth in the book buying market for younger readers, but largely among a female readership.
Thanks to TikTok’s reading subculture — known as BookTok — certain genres have exploded in popularity. In 2024, romance, fantasy, and the genre-blending “romantasy”dominated fiction sales.
Tait said: “BookTok has had a positive impact, particularly among young women. There’s been real growth in genres like romance, fantasy, and romantasy. These books are escapist, and they’re being read by younger and younger readers — but it’s not having the same effect on boys.”
Viral recommendations helped revive books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and A Court of Thorns and Roses, encouraging a new wave of younger readers to pick up titles they may have otherwise missed.
Tait said that the rise in manga, graphic novels, and illustrated chapter books could be a huge opportunity to encourage boys’ reading habits — noting that books like Tom Gates, Dog Man, and Bunny vs Monkey use illustrations to engage middle-grade readers, while the popularity of titles like Heartstopper highlights a growing demand for visual storytelling formats.
The steep decline in reading among boys isn’t just an education issue — it’s a cultural and wellbeing concern, but with the right formats, relatable stories, and support at home and school, they can be re-engaged, according to Tait.
“It is important to include boys into reading conversations,” Tait said. “Reading is still very much alive, it just looks different now, and if boys are to benefit from it, educators, publishers, and parents need to meet them where they are.”
