The primary developmental trends between 2015, 2019 (the pre-pandemic year), and 2023 reveal significant variations in the number of attendees (participants) across selected fields of culture. During these years, there was a sharp increase in cinema attendance, almost threefold. The data on concert attendees demonstrates a fairly noticeable rise, from 4.2% of the population in 2015 to 4.97% in 2023. At the same time, there was a rather noticeable decrease in the audience’s interest in the theatrical sphere over the compared years, from 7% to 4.25% of the population. The percentage of library visitors has been slowly declining, and as a result, libraries moved to second place in visits within the cultural sector, with a rate of 24.34% in 2023.
Meanwhile, museums, second in terms of visits in the cultural sector (26.9% of the population in 2015), emerged as the top destination in 2023 despite a slight decline to 25%. The indicators for pupils in children’s music, art and painting schools show a noticeable decreasing trend over these years; an increase in the share of paid education can explain this trend. Considering the indicated trends, it should still be noted that the total figures in the number of spectators and visitors in state cultural institutions demonstrate a stable tendency to growth: from 4,921.6 thousand persons in 2022 to 5,406.2 thousand in 2023 and 6,217.1 thousand in 2024, which the increasing attention of the state can explain to issues of cultural participation.
Table 4: Number of attendees (participants) of selected cultural activities in the Republic of Azerbaijan (in % of the population, over three selected years)
|
Field |
2015 |
2019 |
2023 |
|
Theatre |
7% |
6,4% |
4.25% |
|
Concerts |
4.2% |
4.9% |
4.97% |
|
Libraries |
27.2% |
25.9% |
24.34% |
|
Museums |
26.9% |
33.2% |
25% |
|
Cultural centres (participants) |
0.7% |
0.4% |
0.3% |
|
Pupils in child music, art and painting schools |
0.7% |
0.6% |
0.55% |
|
Cinema |
6.2% |
16.3% |
18.66% |
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