An analysis of the Mexican Foundation for the Promotion of Reading found that between 2006 and 2012 there was a fall of 10% as regards the number of readers.
People in Mexico read less - reading is still a strictly educational issue and access to literacy is severely restricted for most of the population, said the report of the National Reading Survey (ENL) 2012, conducted by the Mexican Foundation for the Promotion of Reading (FunLectura).
As part of the activities of the International Book Fair (FIL) in Guadalajara, the document noted that unlike the ENL, conducted in 2006 by the National Council for Culture and the Arts (Conaculta), between 2006 and 2012, there was a fall of 10% compared as regards the number of readers of books.
Lorenzo Gomez Morin, a representative of the Foundation, said comparing data from 2006, when asked if they read books, 56% of the Mexicans said yes while in 2012 the figure dropped to 46%.
"There is a drop of 10% of readers in the Mexican population. We go from having at least a half of a population over 12 who read to less than a half.”
"The average number of books read by Mexicans remains virtually the same, has not changed, the average number per person compared to 2006, is 2.94 books," he explained.
The document stressed that the main reasons given by the Mexicans for not reading are: lack of time, other recreational activities or because they do not like to read.
As for terms of preference, and reading material types, most Mexicans have no preference for any particular material.
According to the report, Mexicans read less than before, which is consistent with the data presented by the significant decrease (10 percent of the population) of people currently like to read.
The report indicated that in the group of between 12 and 17 years the people read the same or more compared with the other age groups.
However, there was a fall in the intensity of reading from age 18, age at which most young people finish their studies and when reading they read less.
Regarding the parents' education, the document noted an important progress that is still not sufficient. This is an important element in explaining the results of variables such as encouraging reading in childhood or current reading of books.
Similarly, it indicated that in the younger generation the parental influence in important in encouraging reading during childhood.
It was mentioned that two thirds of people read for pleasure less than 30 minutes per day or its equivalent if they read one day a week for an hour or two.
The survey had a total of 89 questions, which were drawn from the National Survey of Reading, made by Conaculta in 2006, as well as questions from the National Student Survey of Student Assessment 2009 and other surveys developed by the Foundation.