State statistics on culture are the responsibility of the state contributory organisation NIPOS, which tracks data through a register of information units, for instance, for theatre, musical ensembles, observatories, planetariums, libraries, cultural houses, heritage objects, museums and galleries, the periodical and non-periodical press, etc. Below is an overview of some of the indicators that are monitored and their trends over time.
Table 6: Data on cultural subjects and visitor numbers, 1995, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2018 and 2019 (public and private institutions together)
| 1995 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2018 | 2019 | ||
| Libraries | Number of libraries | 6 179 | 5 920 | 5 415 | 5 354 | 5 317 | 5 307 |
| Number of registered readers (in thousands) | 1 428 | 1 538 | 1 431 | 1 412 | 1 373 | 1 376 | |
| Number of visitors (in thousands) | 14 364 | 20 502 | 22 157 | 23 624 | 22 047 | 22 102 | |
| Number of loans (in thousands) | 57 413 | 71 974 | 66 773 | 60 038 | 52 705 | 51 201 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 5 557 | 7 033 | 6 349 | 5 696 | 4 960 | 4 799 | |
| Museums | Number of museums | 333 | 457 | 477 | 484 | 477 | 479 |
| Number of exhibitions | 3 912 | 5 420 | 5 675 | 6 319 | 6 126 | 6 208 | |
| Number of visitors (in thous.) | 8 915 | 9 132 | 9 308 | 11 768 | 14 299 | 14 679 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 863 | 892 | 885 | 1 116 | 1 346 | 1376 | |
| Monuments | Number of castles, palaces, and other monuments with admission fees | 145 | 269 | 284 | 315 | 327 | 326 |
| Number of visitors (in thous.) | 8 693 | 11 797 | 11 325 | 13 006 | 14 238 | 14 896 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 843 | 11 325 | 11 325 | 1 234 | 1 340 | 1 396 | |
| Theatres | Number of theatres (permanent companies) | 96 | 143 | 160 | 180 | 174 | 178 |
| Capacity (number of seats) | 30 015 | 34 863 | 36 648 | 41 872 | 40 306 | 43 486 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.1 | |
| Number of visitors (in thous.) | 5 247 | 4 976 | 5 805 | 6 269 | 6 474 | 6 831 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 508 | 486 | 552 | 595 | 609 | 640 |
Source: Data from the statistical research of NIPOS.
Currently local authorities are very active in conducting surveys on cultural activities and participation in culture. They use the information obtained from the surveys to develop local cultural policies. Another example is studies connected to specific cultural events on the local level, such as ‘Research on the Informedness, Attitudes, and Participation of the Residents of the City of Pilsen in the Project “Pilsen – European Culture Capital”’ (2015-2016, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen), which focused on cultural consumption in relation to Pilsen as a European Culture Capital in 2015.
There are also studies that are conducted on the national and international levels.
As part of a national project called ‘Keys for Life’, in 2012 a study titled ‘Children in the Ring of Today’s World – Value Orientations of Children Aged 6 to 15’ was published. The study looks at four areas of children’s lives: family, school, leisure time, and values. It points to current trends in how children spend their leisure time, including interest in arts activities in relation to age and gender. In 2015-2017 the study ‘Methodology for Segmenting the Population of the CR in Relation to the Consumption of Cultural Goods’ was conducted at the University of Economics in Prague that looked at the segmentation of visitors attending cultural activities, questions of satisfaction, visitor loyalty, and examining the main reasons for attending cultural activities.
The results of studies devoted to culture and cultural preferences and consumption are also regularly published by the Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences – such as ‘Cultural Consumption and Social Distinction in the CR’[1] or Leisure Time, Society, Culture: Czechia – Slovakia.[2]
In November 2013 the results of the special Eurobarometer 399 on access to culture and active participation in culture were published. They indicate both passive participation in culture (recipients of culture) and active participation in culture (individual activities in the arts). The study was conducted in all EU Member States on representative samples of citizens aged 15 and older. The summary report compares the findings with a similar study conducted in 2007. Outside statistical studies surveying how often people use cultural facilities, there are no regular studies conducted in the CR that focus on cultural habits, direct and indirect participation in culture, and cultural consumption.
[1]Šafr, J. 2014. ‘Kulturní spotřeba a sociální distinkce v České republice.’ Pp. 114 – 143 in P. Zahrádka (ed.). Spotřební kultura: historie, teorie a výzkum. Praha: ACADEMIA. ISBN 978-80-200-2372-8.
[2]Chorvát, I., J. Šafr (eds.). 2019. Volný čas, společnost, kultura: Česko – Slovensko.Praha: Sociologickénakladatelství SLON. 248.
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