The grip of the economic crisis in Greece over the past decade did not affect readership, with four in ten Greeks reading at least one book per year, according to a survey released on Monday in Athens.

Forty-four percent of respondents in the survey, carried out by polling firm "qed market research" for "To Vima" (The Tribune) daily, said that they have read at least one book over the past year. A similar result was recorded in a previous similar survey in 2010.

According to the new survey, 13 percent of Greeks reads more than 8 books per year, 11 percent 4-7 books and 10 percent 2-3 books.

Greeks spend on average 177 hours per year reading books. Reading takes up about 10 percent of their leisure time. Listening to music comes first with 43 percent and watching television second with 19 percent.

Among the readers, 93 percent reads mostly at home and 5 percent read at least one e-book last year.

Young people aged 18-24 read 18 percent more than the previous year, while those aged 65-74 on average 39 percent less, the survey showed.

Women seem to read more in young ages and men as they grow older. There was 55 percent of men aged 18-24 said that they had read a book in the past 12 months, while the percentage was 73 percent for women of the same age.

In the age category 65-74 men lead with 47 percent and women follow with 37 percent.

Greeks prefer reading Greek literature (19 percent), educational material (16 percent), foreign literature (10 percent), novels (10 percent) and history books (9 percent). Only 5 percent read books about economy and social sciences and just one percent poetry.

A majority of 61 percent chooses books based on the theme and 32 percent after suggestions by friends.

The survey was conducted across Greece on a sample of 1,674 people in the period November-December 2018. 

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