Contents
- Graphic novel readership statistics: monthly readership among children and young people
- Graphic novel readership statistics by age, gender and region
- Graphic novel readership statistics and reading engagement
- Graphic novel readership statistics among UK adults
- Graphic novel readership statistics and reading formats
- Graphic novel readership statistics in Canadian book-format readership
- Sources
Graphic novel readership statistics: monthly readership among children and young people
The clearest recurring measure in the UK child data is whether a respondent reads comics or graphic novels in their free time at least once a month. In 2026, 45.7% of children and young people reported doing so. In the 2023 survey, the comparable headline measure was 40.7% among children and young people aged 8–18. The 2023 report also gives a closely related format-inclusive measure: 40.3% of respondents in the same age range said they read comics or graphic novels on paper, on screen, or both at least once a month. These are similar, but not identical, measures, so they should be read as separate survey findings rather than a single uninterrupted series. National Literacy Trust, 2026 · National Literacy Trust, 2023
| Survey year | Population and measure | Monthly free-time readership |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | UK children and young people aged 8–18; comics or graphic novels | 40.7% |
| 2023 | UK children and young people aged 8–18; paper, screen, or both | 40.3% |
| 2026 | UK children and young people; comics or graphic novels | 45.7% |
The figures describe a broad reading category. The source material often groups comics with graphic novels, manga, strips, or other sequential art, rather than isolating graphic novels. The percentages therefore indicate participation in the combined category named by each survey; they are not estimates of graphic-novel-only readership. The 2023 report draws on early-2023 responses from 64,066 people aged 8–18 across the UK. National Literacy Trust, 2023 · National Literacy Trust, 2026
Graphic novel readership statistics by age, gender and region
The 2023 breakdown shows monthly free-time comic reading varied by age. The share was 49.7% among children aged 8–11, 40.5% among those aged 11–14, 31.4% among young people aged 14–16, and 32.1% among those aged 16–18. In that survey, the largest reported age-group share was among 8–11-year-olds. The 2026 report uses a broader free-time reading measure in its subgroup comparisons: 60.0% of children aged 8–11 and 33.5% of young people aged 16–18 read comics in their free time. Those 2026 subgroup figures do not specify a monthly threshold, so they are not direct replacements for the 2023 monthly rates. National Literacy Trust, 2023 · National Literacy Trust, 2026
Gender patterns also appear in both reports. In 2023, 44.6% of boys and 34.8% of girls aged 8–18 read comics in their free time at least once a month. In 2026, the reported free-time reading shares were 49.9% for boys and 40.7% for girls; the subgroup statement does not specify a monthly threshold. Across the longer comparison, the reported gender gap narrowed from 18.2 percentage points in 2017 to 9.2 percentage points in 2026. The report attributes that narrowing to more girls reading comics. National Literacy Trust, 2023 · National Literacy Trust, 2026
| 2023 group | Monthly free-time comic reading |
|---|---|
| Boys aged 8–18 | 44.6% |
| Girls aged 8–18 | 34.8% |
| Ages 8–11 | 49.7% |
| Ages 11–14 | 40.5% |
| Ages 14–16 | 31.4% |
| Ages 16–18 | 32.1% |
Free-school-meal status and location add further context. In 2023, monthly free-time reading was reported by 42.3% of children and young people receiving free school meals and 39.2% of those not receiving them. In 2026, the corresponding free-time readership figures were 48.6% for children and young people receiving free school meals and 44.3% for those not receiving them; again, this comparison does not specify a monthly threshold. Regional figures in 2023 ranged across the selected areas: 51.7% in London, 38.7% in Yorkshire and the Humber, 37.1% in the South East, and 33.6% in the South West. These are reported rates for the named regions, not a complete ranking of every UK region. National Literacy Trust, 2023 · National Literacy Trust, 2026
Graphic novel readership statistics and reading engagement
The 2023 survey compares children and young people who read comics with those who did not read comics in their free time. Among comic readers, 58.6% said they enjoyed reading, compared with 33.1% of non-readers. Self-assessed reading ability also differed: 86.0% of comic readers saw themselves as good or very good readers, compared with 76.3% of those who did not read comics. Daily free-time reading was reported by 35.7% of comic readers and 22.8% of non-readers. These are group comparisons from the survey; they describe associations and do not show that comic reading caused the other responses. National Literacy Trust, 2023
Enjoyment figures by age show why an overall comparison can conceal variation. Among children aged 8–11, 68.7% of comic readers enjoyed reading, compared with 66.3% of non-comic readers. Among comic readers aged 11–14, the enjoyment figure was 55.8%; it was 59.9% for comic readers aged 14–16 and also 59.9% for those aged 16–18. The latter age-specific figures supplied here cover comic readers only, so they do not provide a matching non-reader comparison for those age groups. National Literacy Trust, 2023
Read together, the measures cover both habits and attitudes: monthly comic reading, daily reading of any kind in free time, enjoyment, and confidence as a reader. They use different questions and comparison groups. In particular, the daily-reading measure is not a frequency estimate for comics alone; it concerns reading something in free time. National Literacy Trust, 2023
Graphic novel readership statistics among UK adults
A 2024 survey of 2,003 nationally representative UK consumers aged 16 and over found that 27% read graphic novels, comics, or comic books once a month or more. That combined category is important: the finding does not separate graphic novels from comics or comic books. By gender, the reported monthly-or-more shares were 31.4% among men, 22.3% among women, and 53.8% among non-binary respondents. The source does not state the size of the non-binary subgroup in the cited passage. The Reading Agency, The State of the Nation’s Adult Reading (2024): Initial insights
Age breakdowns show monthly-or-more readership at 49% among UK consumers aged 16–24 and 45.6% among those aged 25–34. The figures belong to the same combined comic and graphic-novel measure. They give a view of younger adult respondents, not a full age profile: no additional age-group rates are included here. The Reading Agency, The State of the Nation’s Adult Reading (2024): Initial insights
The report also describes adults who read graphic novels, comics, or comic books at least weekly, comparing their responses with the UK average. Among weekly readers, 55% described themselves as regular readers, against 50% of the UK average. Some 62% liked talking with people about books and reading, compared with 41%; 73% said reading was important in their life, compared with 60%. Among daily comic or graphic-novel readers, 83% said reading was important in their life. The Reading Agency, The State of the Nation’s Adult Reading (2024): Initial insights
Other responses from weekly readers cover reading appetite, wellbeing, representation, concentration, and childhood experience. A reported 64% had read together with a family member in childhood, compared with 58% of the UK average. Some 72% said there were lots of things they wanted to read, compared with 59%; 71% said reading made them feel better, compared with 61%; and 59% wanted more books featuring characters with experiences similar to their own, compared with 35%. At the same time, 40% said they struggled to focus on reading for more than a few minutes, compared with 28% of the UK average. These are characteristics reported by weekly readers, not findings about all UK adults or evidence that comic reading produced those views. The Reading Agency, The State of the Nation’s Adult Reading (2024): Initial insights
Graphic novel readership statistics and reading formats
Format findings vary by population and survey question. In 2026, among UK children and young people who read comics, 59.8% read them in print, 24.6% digitally, and 15.6% across both print and digital formats. These are shares of comic readers, not shares of all children and young people. The categories are reported as the source presents them; they should not be added to create an overall readership rate. National Literacy Trust, 2026
The 2023 child survey’s historical paper measure is different: 28.7% of UK children and young people aged 8–18 read comics on paper in their free time in 2023, compared with 32.2% in 2017/2018. A separate measure reported digital comic reading among UK children and young people at 13.8% in 2017/2018 and 14.3% in 2025. The digital figures are reported in a later campaign guide, while the paper values come from the 2023 report’s trend figure. These series should remain distinct because their source wording and measurement context differ. National Literacy Trust, 2023 · The Reading Agency, campaign guide
For a separate historical U.S. view, the National Endowment for the Arts analyzed 2017 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts data. Among U.S. adults who had read graphic novels or books in comic-strip format in the prior 12 months, 31.0% were digital readers and listeners, 7.8% were audiobook listeners, 32.2% were eBook readers, and 29.1% were print-only readers. These percentages classify genre readers by media-reader type; they do not measure current U.S. readership or a format preference among all adults. National Endowment for the Arts, How Do We Read? Let’s Count the Ways
Graphic novel readership statistics in Canadian book-format readership
BookNet Canada’s 2024 reading study reports subject-by-format findings for English-speaking Canadian readers aged 18 and over. Respondents counted as readers if they had read or listened to a book, or part of one, at least a few times during the prior year. The survey was fielded in January 2025 about reading in 2024. Its fiction and nonfiction subject tables are separate measures, so the values below should be interpreted within their own subject table. BookNet Canada, Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2024
| 2024 subject table: “Comics or Graphic Novels” | Print books | Ebooks | Audiobooks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiction | 16% | 15% | 16% |
| Nonfiction | 11% | 15% | — |
In the fiction-subject table, 16% of Canadian readers read comics or graphic novels in print books, 15% read them as ebooks, and 16% as audiobooks. In the nonfiction-subject table, the reported shares were 11% for print books and 15% for ebooks; no audiobook figure is included in the checked observations. The table describes the report’s subject categories and reader definition, not the percentage of all Canadian adults who read graphic novels specifically. BookNet Canada, Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2024
Sources
- Children and young people’s engagement with comics
- Children and young people’s engagement with comics in 2023
- For Libraries: National Campaign for Reading (includes The State of the Nation’s Adult Reading 2024 initial insights)
- How Do We Read? Let’s Count the Ways: Comparing Digital, Audio, and Print-Only Readers
- Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2024