Estonia has been named the world’s most book-loving nation in a study by the Australian National University and the University of Nevada, with Estonians reporting the highest average number of books in the home.
The researchers found that the average Estonian household owns 218 books, placing the country ahead of Norway and the Czech Republic. More strikingly, 35 per cent of respondents in Estonia said they had 350 books or more at home.
Average number of books in the home at age 16
Estonia – 218
Norway – 212
Czech Republic – 204
Denmark – 192
Russia – 154
Germany – 151
Australia – 148
United Kingdom – 143
Canada – 125
France – 117
World average – 115
The benefits of books
The study, published in Social Science Research, suggests that growing up in a book-filled home has lasting educational benefits. Adults with university degrees but relatively few books in their childhood homes were found to have literacy levels comparable to those who left school after year nine – basic education – but had grown up surrounded by books.
Researchers also found that the number of books in the home at age 16 was positively linked to literacy, numeracy and IT skills later in life, regardless of how much tertiary education a person completed or how often they read in adulthood.
Crucially, the effect was consistent across the world and did not depend on a person’s education level, occupation, sex, age or their parents’ level of education.
Researchers surveyed adults aged 25 to 65 in 31 countries and asked them how many books they had at home when they were 16.
That Estonians buy books in large numbers and read widely will surprise few. In a nation of just 1.3 million people, bookshops are a fixture in every major shopping centre, while independent booksellers still hold their ground in Tallinn and Tartu. More astonishing still, given the modest size of the market, Estonia is home to almost 900 publishers.
