New study reveals changes in Danes’ cultural consumption

A new study by Statistics Denmark has revealed how the country’s population have changed their cultural habits over the past 60 years.

As it noted, the differences in the cultural habits of younger and older age cohorts have narrowed over the decades, with people aged 65 and over now participating more in cultural activities, similar to younger age groups.

Cultural habits

“There is a tendency for cultural habits across age groups to become more homogeneous and the differences smaller,” commented Anders Yde Bentsen, Statistics Denmark.

“The cultural habits of the elderly are now more similar to those of the rest of the population. We can see this, for example, in the fact that elderly people aged 65 or over now go to concerts, where in the past it was mostly a cultural activity that attracted young people.”

Among the key findings of the study are a notable decline in the number of Danish people reading printed newspapers in recent years, from 87% in 2012 to just 21% in 2024.

At the same time, despite the broadening array of new media options open to consumers, there has been an increase in cinema attendance over the years, from 57% in 1964 to 67% in 2024.

Over the decades, the study found that women have consistently visited art exhibitions or attended concerts more frequently than men, Statistics Denmark noted.

Childhood experiences

The analysis also explored the impact of childhood experiences on adult cultural habits, noting that people that participated in cultural activities in their childhood are more likely to participate in cultural activities as adults.

“If you played instruments, read bedtime stories or exercised in your childhood home, you tend to participate in cultural activities to a greater extent as an adult,” Bentsen added. “This also applies if cultural experiences took place outside your childhood home, such as being taken on museum visits or going to a concert or the theatre.”

Cultural habits also vary geography, the study found, with municipalities near major cities such as Copenhagen and Gentofte having higher museum visit rates compared to more rural areas.

The study also explored the number of people that are ‘opting out’ of participating in cultural activities’ – in 2024, 38% of the population chose not to attend concerts, 55% skipped live sports events, and 38% opted out of museum visits. Read more here.