This is the Province with the Most Library Visits in 2024

According to a report by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in 2024, 11.91% of the population aged 5 and over visited a library in the previous three months.

"Libraries are not merely repositories of print and digital collections, but also play a crucial role in information dissemination," wrote the BPS in its 2024 Social and Cultural Statistics report.

During this period, West Sumatra had the highest national percentage of library visitors, at 19.3%.

The following is a list of the 10 provinces with the highest proportion of residents visiting libraries in 2024:

1. West Sumatra: 19.3%

2. Yogyakarta Special Region: 18.46%

3. Bangka Belitung Islands: 16%

4. Aceh: 14.47%

5. West Nusa Tenggara (NTB): 14.46%

6. Gorontalo: 14.3%

7. Riau Islands: 13.8%

8. South Sulawesi: 13.45%

9. West Java: 12.43%

10. Riau: 12.31%

Meanwhile, the lowest rate was in the Mountainous Papua region, where only 0.23% of the population visited a library last year.

This was followed by Central Papua (1.24%), South Papua (2.37%), West Papua (4.75%), West Papua Daya (5.57%), and Papua (7.59%).

Although library visits remain low, the BPS recorded that 90.17% of the population aged 5 and over engaged in reading activities.

Holy books were the most widely read media, accounting for 75.80% of the population. Other popular reading materials included knowledge books (23.20%), school textbooks (23.20%), and newspapers (18.50%).