Vietnamese read one book a year: insider
Even though Vietnam’s publishing industry continues to grow, outperforming its digital counterpart, the national reading rate remains low, education insiders said at a seminar. In its last meeting of the year on December 18, The Sofa, a monthly book-themed discussion group held on Ho Chi Minh City’s Book Street since June, panelists talked publishing trends in Vietnam in 2016, with two keynote speakers representing the print and e-book sectors. In his speech, Le Hoang, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Publishers Association, said while more books have been printed in Vietnam over the years, it remains an issue that few Vietnamese are fond of reading. Hoang said textbooks and school reference books account for as many as 80 percent of the books available on the market. “The reading rate amongst Vietnamese is only one book per person per year if we exclude these two types of books,” he said.
