Cyprus sees rise in e-book purchases but trails EU average

Cyprus recorded 7.87 per cent of internet users purchasing e-books or audio books in 2025, according to Eurostat, placing the country below the EU average but showing robust growth compared with the previous year.

The data covers EU residents who had used the internet in the three months prior to the survey, with 9.5 per cent across the European Union buying e-books or audio books, up from 7.3 per cent in 2024.

This increase reflects a broader shift towards digital reading and audio content consumption, as more Europeans turn to online platforms for books.

In Cyprus, the share of users purchasing such content rose by 4 percentage points compared with 2024, indicating a steady rise in digital adoption.

Despite this improvement, Cyprus remains below leading countries such as Ireland at 24.5 per cent, Denmark at 22.5 per cent and Croatia at 21.0 per cent, where uptake is significantly higher.

At the lower end of the spectrum, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia and Latvia recorded shares below 5 per cent, highlighting disparities across the bloc.

Croatia posted the largest increase in the EU, with a 16 percentage point rise year-on-year, followed by Greece with an increase of 7.2 percentage points and Germany with 3.7 percentage points.

Cyprus’ increase of 4 percentage points places it among countries experiencing moderate but consistent growth in digital reading trends.

By contrast, some countries saw declines, including Finland with a drop of 4.8 percentage points, Portugal with 1.6 percentage points and Malta with 0.1 percentage points.

The findings underline the ongoing expansion of digital content consumption across Europe, while also pointing to varying levels of adoption between countries.

For Cyprus, the figures suggest continued progress in digital engagement and online consumption habits, although there remains scope to close the gap with higher-performing EU members.