e-book buying preference in EU countries: Print vs e-books

Those in the European Union seem to have a greater preference for print books and magazines than their digital counterparts, the website Eurostat reported. A recent study revealed that 13.4 percent of residents in the EU had bought printed books online in the previous three months in 2023. The corresponding figures for 2022 and 2021 happen to be 12.7 percent and 14.5 percent respectively.

In comparison, those who purchased e-books, e-magazines, or digital copies of newspapers in 2023 stood at just 7.2 percent. That however marks a slight increase over the 6.6 percent who bought e-books in 2022.

Region-wise, it is the Dutch who formed the largest block, or 23.5 percent who made online purchases of printed books in the previous 3 months in 2023. Next, it is Luxembourg (22.2 percent) and Ireland (21.1 percent) that were the largest buyers of printed books online during the period. Bulgaria (3.7 percent), Latvia (2.9 percent), and Cyprus (1.4 percent) made up the bottom of the list.

Coming to e-books, those living in Denmark were the highest spenders where 22 percent bought e-books online. Netherlands (21.6 percent) and Ireland (16.9 percent) made up the second and third spot. Again, making up the bottom of the list are Cyprus (0.6 percent), Bulgaria (2.0 percent) and Romania (2.2 percent). Interestingly, Denmark and Finland were the only countries where people bought more e-books compared to print books online during the period.

With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I’ll likely make a film sometime in the future.