While the image of a reader folded into a broadsheet may be fading, the story of newspapers today is one of dramatic transformation, as evidenced by the fact that digital readership officially surpassed print in 45 countries during 2023, even as 2.1 billion people worldwide still engage with newspaper content each month.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, global newspaper readership reached 2.1 billion unique readers monthly across print and digital platforms
- Newspaper circulation worldwide declined by 4.2% in 2022 compared to 2021, totaling 1.2 million fewer copies daily
- 47% of the world's population aged 16-74 read newspapers weekly in 2022
- In the US, daily newspaper readership fell to 20% of adults in 2023 from 24% in 2020
- 48% of US adults read newspapers online weekly in 2022
- Print newspaper circulation in the US dropped 8% to 20.9 million daily in 2023
- In the UK, 11.6 million adults read print newspapers daily in 2023
- UK digital newspaper reach hit 38 million monthly in 2023
- German newspaper readership was 59% daily across print/digital in 2022
- 45% of US women aged 18-29 read newspapers digitally weekly in 2022
- Globally, 62% of newspaper readers aged 50+ prefer print in 2023
- In the UK, 38% of men read newspapers daily vs 29% women in 2023
- Digital newspaper readership overtook print by 15% globally in 2023
- US print daily readership halved from 55% in 2000 to 20% in 2023
- 75% of UK newspaper consumption now digital monthly uniques 2023
Digital newspaper readership has surpassed print globally for the first time, reflecting a major shift.
Demographics
- 45% of US women aged 18-29 read newspapers digitally weekly in 2022
- Globally, 62% of newspaper readers aged 50+ prefer print in 2023
- In the UK, 38% of men read newspapers daily vs 29% women in 2023
- US Black adults newspaper readership rate was 22% weekly in 2022
- 55% of global high-income earners ($75k+) subscribe to newspapers
- European urban youth (18-24) digital newspaper use at 31% monthly 2023
- In India, 48% of rural male adults read newspapers weekly in 2022
- US Hispanic women newspaper digital readership 28% in 2023
- 71% of Australian seniors over 65 read print newspapers daily 2022
- Global Gen Z female newspaper engagement 18% via social in 2023
- UK lower-income groups newspaper readership 25% vs 45% higher-income 2023
- 34% of Canadian immigrants read ethnic newspapers weekly 2022
- France college graduates newspaper readership 52% daily 2023
- 27% of German parents with young children read family newspapers 2022
- US Asian American newspaper readership 41% digital weekly 2023
- 49% of Brazilian urban professionals read newspapers daily 2022
- Sweden LGBTQ+ newspaper readership 39% vs national 45% in 2023
- 22% of South African youth under 25 read newspapers digitally 2022
- Italy retirees newspaper print loyalty at 67% daily 2023
- Global disabled adults newspaper access 29% digital adapted 2022
- 36% of Japanese salarymen read commuter newspapers daily 2023
- US veterans newspaper readership 48% for military news 2022
- 41% of Dutch higher-educated read quality newspapers weekly 2023
- China urban female newspaper readership 35% daily 2022
- 19% of Philippine Gen Z read newspapers via apps 2023
- Spain rural elderly print readership 58% in 2022
- 44% of newspaper readers worldwide are college-educated in 2023
- UK ethnic minority digital newspaper use 32% weekly 2022
- 67% of print newspaper readers globally are over 55 in 2023
Demographics Interpretation
While the digital tide rises with the young, the enduring print edition remains the comfortable armchair of the educated, the wealthy, and especially the old, revealing a news landscape fractured by age, income, and habit more than anything else.
Digital vs Print
- Digital newspaper readership overtook print by 15% globally in 2023
- US print daily readership halved from 55% in 2000 to 20% in 2023
- 75% of UK newspaper consumption now digital monthly uniques 2023
- Global digital newspaper time spent rose 25% to 40 min daily in 2022
- Australia print circulation down 62% since 2012 to 2.3m weekly 2023
- 82% of German under-30s prefer digital newspapers over print 2022
- Worldwide, 60% of newspaper revenue now from digital in 2023
- France digital newspaper readers up 20% to 18m while print down 12% 2022
- India digital newspaper apps downloads surged 35% in 2023
- US newspaper websites traffic grew 8% while print sales fell 10% 2023
- 70% of Brazilian newspapers offer digital editions surpassing print sales 2022
- Europe digital newspaper subscriptions up 18% to 25m in 2023
- Japan print readership steady at 40m daily but digital adds 15m 2023
- Global print newspaper closures 25% since 2015, digital launches 40% 2022
- 55% of Canadian news from newspapers now digital vs 20% print 2023
- Netherlands digital newspaper reach 85% vs print 25% in 2022
- South Korea digital newspaper users 28m monthly vs print 5m daily 2023
- UK paywalled digital content read by 12m vs print 7m daily 2023
- Worldwide e-paper readership tripled to 150m since 2018 in 2022
- US mobile newspaper reading 65% of digital time in 2023
- 48% drop in global print ad spend shifted to digital news 2023
- Sweden 90% digital newspaper penetration, print at 30% 2022
- Mexico digital newspaper growth 22% while print down 18% 2023
- 35% of global newspapers fully digital-only by 2023
Digital vs Print Interpretation
The world’s news is now delivered through glowing rectangles, not rustling paper, a shift so decisive it seems the printed word is quietly folding itself into a museum exhibit.
Europe
- In the UK, 11.6 million adults read print newspapers daily in 2023
- UK digital newspaper reach hit 38 million monthly in 2023
- German newspaper readership was 59% daily across print/digital in 2022
- France saw 14 million daily newspaper readers in 2023
- Italy's newspaper circulation fell to 1.8 million daily in 2022
- Spanish digital newspaper users reached 25 million monthly in 2023
- Netherlands print readership dropped to 28% in 2022
- Sweden had 78% newspaper digital penetration in 2023
- Poland newspaper readership was 42% weekly in 2022
- UK tabloid newspaper readership topped 20 million weekly in 2023
- Russian print newspapers circulated 7 million daily in 2022
- Norway's newspaper subscription rate was 68% of households in 2023
- Belgium French-language newspaper readers numbered 1.2 million daily in 2022
- Austria daily newspaper reach was 52% in 2023
- Denmark digital newspaper time spent averaged 22 minutes daily in 2022
- Switzerland multilingual newspaper readership was 65% weekly in 2023
- Finland print circulation fell 10% to 1.5 million in 2022
- Ireland newspaper digital subscribers grew 14% to 500k in 2023
- Portugal daily newspaper readers were 1.1 million in 2022
- Greece newspaper circulation halved to 100k daily since 2010 in 2023
- Czech Republic digital news readership from newspapers was 55% in 2022
- Hungary print readership stood at 35% daily in 2023
- Romania newspaper penetration was 28% in urban areas 2022
- UK over-75s print readership was 48% daily in 2023
- Germany millennial newspaper app usage was 32% weekly in 2022
- France female readership share was 51% in 2023
- Spain Gen Z newspaper digital reach 25% in 2022
- Italy high-income newspaper subscriptions 45% in 2023
Europe Interpretation
It seems Europe's newspaper pulse still beats, albeit with an arrhythmic mix of stubborn print loyalists, a booming digital majority, and generational shifts that suggest the medium’s obituary has been, yet again, greatly exaggerated.
Global Readership
- In 2023, global newspaper readership reached 2.1 billion unique readers monthly across print and digital platforms
- Newspaper circulation worldwide declined by 4.2% in 2022 compared to 2021, totaling 1.2 million fewer copies daily
- 47% of the world's population aged 16-74 read newspapers weekly in 2022
- Digital newspaper readership grew by 12% globally in 2023, surpassing print for the first time in 45 countries
- In 2021, Asia accounted for 62% of global newspaper print circulation with 250 million daily copies
- Unique monthly newspaper website visitors worldwide hit 1.8 billion in 2023
- Global average time spent reading newspapers daily was 28 minutes in 2022
- 35% of global adults subscribed to a newspaper in 2023, up 3% from 2020
- Newspaper ad revenue globally fell 7.5% to $85 billion in 2022, impacting readership investments
- 1.5 billion people accessed newspapers via mobile apps in 2023 monthly
- Global print newspaper readership penetration was 28% in urban areas in 2022
- In 2023, 52% of global newspaper readers were under 35, driven by digital shifts
- Worldwide, newspapers retained 41% market share of news consumption in 2022
- Global newspaper e-editions subscribers grew 15% to 120 million in 2023
- 68% of global news deserts had declining newspaper readership in 2022
- International newspaper readership via apps averaged 45 minutes daily in 2023
- Global female newspaper readership stood at 48% in 2022
- Newspapers comprised 22% of global paid news subscriptions in 2023
- Worldwide newspaper closures numbered 1,200 in 2022, reducing readership access
- 55% of global millennials read newspapers digitally weekly in 2023
- Global newspaper reach via social media was 900 million monthly in 2022
- Average global household newspaper subscription rate was 32% in 2023
- Newspapers held 19% of global trust in news sources in 2022 survey
- Global over-65 readership for print newspapers was 72% in 2023
- Digital newspaper paywalls covered 75% of global titles in 2022, boosting readership revenue
- Global newspaper readership in developing countries grew 5% digitally in 2023
- 40% of global professionals read newspapers daily for business news in 2022
- Worldwide, newspaper audio editions reached 200 million listeners monthly in 2023
- Global urban newspaper readership density was 1.2 copies per person daily in 2022
- Newspapers accounted for 15% of global daily news time in 2023
Global Readership Interpretation
While the industry mourns the fading rustle of newsprint at breakfast, its digital ghost now haunts more pockets than ever, proving that the need for news is immortal even as its paper vessels crumble.
North America
- In the US, daily newspaper readership fell to 20% of adults in 2023 from 24% in 2020
- 48% of US adults read newspapers online weekly in 2022
- Print newspaper circulation in the US dropped 8% to 20.9 million daily in 2023
- 31% of US seniors over 65 read print newspapers daily in 2023
- Digital newspaper subscriptions in the US reached 15 million in 2023, up 10%
- US newspaper website unique visitors averaged 120 million monthly in 2022
- 25% of US millennials subscribed to newspapers in 2023
- Weekend newspaper readership in the US was 42% in 2022
- US local newspaper readership stood at 69% for community news in 2023
- Female US newspaper readership was 52% in 2022 digital platforms
- US paywall newspaper subscribers grew 12% to 8.5 million in 2023
- 16% of US adults read newspapers daily in print in 2023, down from 20% in 2019
- Hispanic US newspaper readership reached 35% weekly in 2022
- US college-educated adults had 38% newspaper readership rate in 2023
- Newspaper ad-supported digital readership in US was 55 million monthly in 2023
- 22% of US Republicans read newspapers daily vs 28% Democrats in 2022
- US newspaper e-paper downloads hit 50 million monthly in 2023
- Rural US newspaper readership was 45% for local papers in 2022
- 65% of US high-income households subscribed to newspapers in 2023
- US newspaper podcasts reached 10 million listeners weekly in 2023
- Black US adult newspaper readership was 18% daily in 2022
- US Gen Z newspaper digital readership grew 18% to 12% in 2023
- National newspaper readership in US was 35% weekly in 2022
- 40% of US urban adults read newspapers online daily in 2023
- US newspaper trust among readers was 44% in 2023 survey
- Average US time spent on newspaper sites was 5 minutes daily in 2022
- 28% of US parents read newspapers with children weekly in 2023
- US newspaper single-copy sales fell 15% to 4 million in 2023
- 52% of US journalists read competing newspapers daily in 2022
- Canada newspaper digital readership was 62% weekly in 2023
- Mexican print newspaper circulation averaged 2.5 million daily in 2022
North America Interpretation
The newspaper isn't dead, it's just moving house—and while the print edition is quietly boxing up its china in the attic, the digital version is throwing a far noisier housewarming party downstairs.
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