Receptive cultural participation
The 2024-2025 Survey on Cultural Habits and Practices, based on 16,000 interviews with individuals aged 15 and over, reports the highest levels of cultural consumption in Spain in recent decades, confirming a strong recovery after the decline observed during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021–2022 edition).
With few exceptions—such as music listening, radio consumption, television viewing and reading of daily or sports press—most indicators show higher participation levels than in the previous period.
Watching audiovisual content and listening to music remain the most frequent cultural activities, with monthly participation rates of 81% and 77.8%, respectively. Around 64.9% of the population reported reading at least one book during the year. Visits to heritage and cultural institutions were also significant: 52.1% of the population visited monuments or archaeological sites, while 47.6% attended museums, exhibitions or art galleries (40.6%, 33.9% and 18.5%, respectively). Library use, including digital access, reached 28.6%, whereas visits to archives remained comparatively limited (7.6%).
Attendance at live cultural performances reached 47.1%, with contemporary music concerts (32.1%) and theatre (24.7%) being the most popular. Participation in other forms of performing arts remained lower, including classical music concerts (9.7%), dance (7.2%), circus (6.7%), opera (3.9%) and operetta (1.7%). Cinema attendance stood at 48.5%, exceeding participation levels recorded for most live performance formats.
Compared with the previous edition (2021–2022), recovery has been particularly notable in live performances and cinema, increasing from 19.9% to 47.1% and from 27.7% to 48.5%, respectively. Reading also showed moderate growth, rising from 61.7% to 64.9%, while digital reading continued its upward trend.
Digital consumption has become an increasingly central component of cultural participation. The proportion of households subscribing to digital cultural content platforms reached 74.1%, representing an increase of 14.7 percentage points compared to 2021–2022 and over 20 points compared to 2018–2019.
Table 3: People who participated in or attended a certain cultural activity during the last 12 months in Spain, in % of the population, period 2018-2025
|
|
2018-2019 |
2021-2022 |
2024-2025 |
|
Activities heavily subsidised by the state |
|||
|
Museums |
40.5 |
20.1 |
40.6 |
|
Exhibitions |
29.8 |
14.5 |
33.9 |
|
Art galleries |
16.0 |
6.9 |
18.5 |
|
Monuments |
49.3 |
26.4 |
50.5 |
|
Archaeological sites |
21.8 |
11.6 |
22.8 |
|
Archives |
7.1 |
3.5 |
7.6 |
|
Libraries |
26.8 |
18.4 |
28.6 |
|
Theatre |
24.5 |
8.2 |
24.7 |
|
Opera |
3.3 |
0.9 |
3.9 |
|
Zarzuela |
1.5 |
0.4 |
1.7 |
|
Ballet or dance |
8.0 |
2.0 |
7.2 |
|
Circus |
7.3 |
1.6 |
6.7 |
|
Classical music concert |
9.4 |
3.9 |
9.7 |
|
Contemporary music concert |
30.1 |
10.4 |
32.1 |
|
Activities without large public subsidies |
|||
|
Cinema |
57.8 |
27.7 |
48.5 |
|
To read book unrelated to work or studies |
59.5 |
55.8 |
58.8 |
|
In paper format |
61.9 |
57.8 |
60.8 |
|
In digital format or audiobook |
20.2 |
24.4 |
29.8 |
|
Directly from the Internet |
9.9 |
8.6 |
14.0 |
|
Listen to music (usually listen) |
85.8 |
84.4 |
77.8 |
|
On the computer or directly from the Internet |
40.8 |
43.1 |
48.1 |
|
To read publications (usually read) |
76.9 |
71.1 |
66.9 |
|
Directly from the Internet |
42.9 |
49.0 |
49.4 |
|
Radio |
75.4 |
66.9 |
56.6 |
|
Directly from the Internet |
13.3 |
18.4 |
18.5 |
|
Audiovisual content |
61.8 |
76.2 |
81.0 |
|
Directly from the Internet |
22.5 |
21.6 |
25.8 |
|
Television |
90.9 |
85.0 |
73.2 |
|
Directly from the Internet |
13.5 |
22.6 |
21.3 |
|
Videogames (usually play) |
13.8 |
14.8 |
19.3 |
Source: Ministry of Culture (several years) Survey of Cultural Habits and Practices in Spain.
Note: Usually means at least once a month
With respect to participant characteristics, the latest survey confirms patterns observed in previous editions. Cultural participation continues to vary significantly by sex. Women report higher levels of engagement in reading (with the exception of professional and press reading), library use—both physical and online—and visits to museums, exhibitions, and art galleries. Men, by contrast, show higher rates of visits to monuments and archaeological sites. Age also remains a key determinant of participation. Young people display the highest levels of engagement across most cultural activities, including visits to heritage sites, attendance at live performances, reading, library use, and the purchase of cultural goods. Participation, however, declines progressively with age. Educational attainment continues to be the most influential variable, with levels of cultural participation increasing significantly among individuals with higher educational qualifications.
While these findings provide a detailed picture of socio-demographic inequalities in cultural participation, an important limitation concerns the lack of data on the population’s country of origin. The Survey of Cultural Habits and Practices does not include this variable, restricting the ability to analyse participation patterns among migrant and culturally diverse populations. Although earlier studies examined cultural participation among migrant communities, more recent research on this issue remains limited.
Active cultural participation
The survey also examines the extent to which individuals engage in creative and artistic activities, referred to as active cultural participation. These practices provide important insight into the role of culture beyond consumption, highlighting participation as a form of expression, creativity and everyday cultural engagement.
As shown in Table 4, activities related to the visual arts stand out for their frequency. Photography is the most widespread activity (19.6%), followed by painting or drawing (14.3%) and video creation (9.3%). Writing as a hobby is reported by 6.9% of the population. Participation in musical activities is relatively more limited, with 8.5% of individuals reporting that they play a musical instrument and 1.8% participating in choir singing. In the field of performing arts, 3.8% of the population report practising dance, ballet or similar forms, while 1.3% engage in theatre activities.
As in receptive cultural participation, active practices show significant socio-demographic differences. Sex differences are particularly evident: women report higher participation in activities such as writing (7.9% compared to 5.8% among men) and in visual arts practices such as painting and drawing. In contrast, activities such as playing a musical instrument and video gaming are more prevalent among men. Age also remains a key factor, with younger individuals showing higher levels of participation across most creative activities.
Public support for active cultural participation—particularly in the performing arts—takes place mainly at the local level. Municipalities, non-profit associations and local cultural organisations play a central role in promoting amateur artistic practices, often offering free or low-cost opportunities for participation.
Across Spain, various initiatives support the visibility and circulation of amateur performing arts. These include the Federación de Teatro Amateur de la Comunidad Valenciana [Federation of Amateur Theatre of the Valencian Community], which brings together more than one hundred theatre groups and receives public support for activities and sector development, and Red de Teatro Amateur de Madrid (RED-TAM) [Madrid Amateur Theatre Network], which connects municipalities and amateur companies to facilitate programming and improve access. At the national level, the Confederación EscenAmateur [EscenAmateur Confederation] coordinates regional federations and represents the interests of the amateur theatre sector.
Table 4: People who have carried out artistic activities in Spain in the last 12 months by type of activity, in % of total population, period 2010-2025)
|
|
2018-2019 |
2021-2022 |
2024-2025 |
|
Type of activity |
|||
|
Writing |
8.7 |
6.4 |
6.9 |
|
Painting or drawing |
16.1 |
10.1 |
14.3 |
|
Other visual arts |
10.3 |
5.2 |
6.0 |
|
Photography |
28.8 |
13.1 |
19.6 |
|
Making videos |
16.7 |
7.1 |
9.3 |
|
Designing webpages |
3.2 |
1.4 |
2.4 |
|
Having a blog |
2.5 |
0.6 |
1.1 |
|
Other audiovisual |
3.1 |
1.3 |
2.4 |
|
Drama and theatre-making |
2.2 |
1.3 |
1.3 |
|
Dance, ballet and flamenco |
6.2 |
2.6 |
3.8 |
|
Playing a musical instrument |
9.6 |
6.5 |
8.5 |
|
Sing in a choir |
2.7 |
1.0 |
1.8 |
|
Other related to music |
4.3 |
1.8 |
3.6 |
|
Other artistic activities |
5.4 |
3.1 |
7.2 |
Source: Ministry of Culture (several years) Survey of Cultural Habits and Practices in Spain.
os-al-ciudadano/estadisticas/cultura/mc/ehc/portada.html.
Comments are closed.