Almost a Million British Children Have no Books at Home Due to a Lack of Funds

Almost one million children (one in 12 children) in the United Kingdom aged five to eighteen have no books of their own at home.

This is reported in a new study conducted by the National Literacy Trust.

The research also revealed a significant gap in the availability of books between children receiving free school meals and those who do not - 12.4% and 5.8%, respectively. In other words, children from less affluent families have less opportunity to read at home.

This difference in figures is the largest in the past decade. Researchers note that pressure on family budgets due to rising food and energy prices directly affects the "ability of families to support reading at home."

Earlier this year, NLT published a study stating that 36% of British families feeling financial strain due to the cost of living are spending less on books for their children.

Furthermore, the rate among children aged five to eight was lower (80.8%) compared to the group of children aged eight to eighteen (92.9%). According to researchers, a lower percentage of books among younger children is a concerning signal, as this age is when "basic reading skills, behaviour, and attitudes" are formed.

It is worth noting that in the group aged 5 to 8, girls (83.7%) more often reported having their own books at home compared to boys (77.5%).

At the same time, children in London aged 8 to 18 own more books than in other regions of the United Kingdom - 94.6%.

In total, NLT managed to survey 71,351 children using two questionnaires for children aged 5 to 8 and 8 to 18. The surveys were conducted in various schools in the United Kingdom.

Recall that earlier, the Ukrainian Book Institute published data from a new study, according to which Ukrainians have started reading significantly more since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Currently, 17% of Ukrainians read books every day, compared to 8% in 2020. The percentage of children who "never read in their free time" also decreased from 18% to 15%.