Uplift in reading for pleasure in 2026 report, bucking the downward trend

The National Literacy Trust's annual report into children and young people's reading enjoyment highlights a small increase in both reading with enjoyment and daily reading, after several years of decline - some welcome news during the National Year of Reading, which the NLT is spearheading.

After four years of decline, more than one in three (36.1%) of children and young people said they enjoyed reading in their free time, up from 32.7% in 2025. This is the first increase in reading enjoyment since 2021, with a long decline in reading for enjoyment during the past 20 years.

However, the report also marks the gaps in reading enjoyment, particularly among boys aged five to eight years and children and young people receiving free school meals, with a widening in the socio‑economic gap in reading for pleasure.

Importantly, the research also shows that many children and young people acknowledge reading's benefits for learning, wellbeing and understanding of oneself and others. As a result, many still read even if they aren't enjoying it much.

The Annual Literacy Survey provides a snapshot of children and young people's reading enjoyment, frequency and experiences during 2026, drawing on responses from 125,375 children and young people aged 5 to 18 from 479 schools across the UK.

Report's key findings

- Enjoyment of reading increased for both boys and girls and across all age groups, with the largest rises in those aged 14 to 16 and 16 to 18. Among children aged 5 to 8, enjoyment remained high overall, but fell slightly from 62.6% in 2025 to 61.6% in 2026, driven by a decrease in boys' enjoyment levels.

- Daily reading also increased slightly in 2026. In 2026, one in five (20.3%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they read daily in their free time, up from 18.7% in 2025. This marks the first increase in daily reading since 2023, although levels remain below earlier years.

Daily reading increased across all age groups, particularly among those aged 14 to 16 and 16 to 18. Among children aged 5 to 8, daily reading rose slightly to 45.5%, driven by increased daily reading in girls. As with reading enjoyment, socio-economic gaps in daily reading widened in 2026, with daily reading increasing more among those not receiving FSMs than those who did.

Reading still matters even when enjoyment is low. More children and young people who enjoyed reading read daily than those who did not enjoy reading (49.8% vs 4.5%). The relationship became stronger with age, with reading enjoyment and frequency more closely aligned among older age groups.

Children and young people who enjoyed reading and read daily were most likely to say that reading supported their learning, relaxation and wellbeing, as well as helping them to understanding themselves and others. However, many of those who did not enjoy reading were still reading regularly, with more than 3 in 5 reading at least once a month (62.3%) and feeling that reading supported their learning and understanding in particular.

The report states, "The small rise in reading enjoyment and daily reading is welcome, but inequalities remain, and many children and young people are still at risk of disengaging from reading." The findings, it adds, also emphasise not only the importance of enjoyment, but of exploring the wider reasons why reading may matter in children and young people's lives.

Download the full report.