State statistics on culture are the responsibility of the state budgetary 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.
Figures from the Czech Statistical Office and the Culture Account of the Czech Republic (for 2013) indicate that the culture sector accounts for around 2% of the Czech economy. Out of total public budget expenditure 2.16% goes to culture and 3.2% of total household expenditure goes to culture. The number of employees in the culture sector is just under 2% of the total number of employees in the economy. Household expenditures on culture went mostly to the media and the press (television, radio, cinema, books), which account for almost 72% of expenditure. Households spent much less of their resources on purchasing cultural goods, admission tickets, and so forth.
Culture accounts for 1.37% of total GDP.
Table 14: Data on cultural subjects and the number of visitors, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 (public and private institutions together)
| 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libraries | Number of libraries | 5 438 | 5 415 | 5 401 | 5 381 | 5 360 |
| Number of registered readers (in thousands) | 1 447 | 1 431 | 1 450 | 1 430 | 1 436 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 139 | 136 | 137.5 | 136.1 | 136.5 | |
| Number of loans (in thousands) | 66 744 | 66 773 | 66 259 | 64 208 | 62 614 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 6 399 | 6 349 | 6 305 | 6 109 | 5 950 | |
| Museums | Number of museums | 491 | 477 | 502 | 504 | 509 |
| Number of exhibitions | 5 656 | 5 675 | 6 014 | 6 056 | 6 199 | |
| Number of visitors (in thous.) | 9 586 | 9 308 | 9 577 | 10 458 | 11 651 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 919 | 884 | 911 | 995 | 1 107 | |
| Monuments | Number of castles, palaces, and other monuments with admission fees | 277 | 284 | 295 | 288 | 308 |
| Number of visitors (in thous.) | 11 681 | 11 325 | 11 627 | 9 884 | 11 992 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 11 681 | 11 325 | 1 106 | 1 319 | 1 139 | |
| Theatres | Number of theatres (permanent companies) | 133 | 151 | 153 | 142 | 152 |
| Capacity (number of seats) | 37 322 | 36 648 | 36 124 | 36 124 | 40 469 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 4 | 3.5 | 3.54 | 3.4 | 3.9 | |
| Number of visitors (in thous.) | 5 606 | 5 805 | 5 699 | 5 671 | 6 108 | |
| per 1 000 inhabitants | 538 | 552 | 542 | 540 | 580 | |
Source: Material from statistic research of NIPOS.
Table 15: Number of visitors to cultural institutions established by state administration and municipal authorities – 1995, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014
| 1995 | 2004 | 2008 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical monuments | 5 935 301 | 8 839 276 | 8 637 746 | 7 100 495 | 7 066 671 | 7 447 109 | 8 387 161 |
| Public libraries | 14 364 000 | 20 615 000 | 20 913 000 | 24 025 000 | 24 298 000 | 24 142 000 | 24 053 000 |
| Museums | 7 405 523 | 7 108 714 | 7 452 305 | 7 904 175 | 7 532 358 | 8 360 392 | 9 365 438 |
| Theatres | 4 305 492 | 3 848 668 | 3 674 148 | 3 527 917 | 3 440 922 | 3 417 621 | 3 446 579 |
| Total visitors | 32 010 316 | 40 411 658 | 40 677 199 | 42 557 587 | 42 337 951 | 43 367 122 | 45 252 178 |
Source: Using material from statistic research by NIPOS.
Table 16: Number of visitors to cultural institutions established by business entities (in the field of theatre the data are from 2004)
| 1995 | 2004 | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical monuments | 507 890 | 1 095 167 | 1 309 345 | 2 723 129 | 2 884 030 | 2 586 835 | 1 085 920 |
| Theatres and theatre groups | – | 1 110 750 | 1 526 530 | 1 570 307 | 1 588 383 | 1 584 300 | 1 529 627 |
| Museums | 335 413 | 743 321 | 946 576 | 1 041 055 | 1 047 405 | 1 008 570 | 1 153 075 |
| Total numbers of visitors | 843 303 | 2 949 235 | 3 782 451 | 5 334 491 | 5 179 705 | 3 737 303 | 3 768 622 |
Source: From statistical research of NIPOS.
Currently local authorities are very active in conducting surveys of cultural activities and participation in culture. They use the information obtained from the surveys to develop local cultural policies.
There are also surveys 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 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. The data for the Czech Republic represent a rare source of information that provides a basic picture of the behaviour of the target group.
Comments are closed.