Participation in cultural activities

Participation in cultural activities

Overall, 63.8% of Glasgow residents participated in cultural activities, including reading, compared to 73.7% across Scotland. When excluding reading, the figures drop to 38.9% for Glasgow and 49.8% for Scotland.

Reading for pleasure remained the most common activity for both Glasgow and Scotland in 2023 (55.5% for Glasgow compared to 62.3% across Scotland). Crafts, viewing performances online, and painting were more common in Scotland in comparison to Glasgow. Playing a musical instrument, dance (either for fitness or not for fitness), viewing cultural content online, photography, computer artwork or animation, creative writing, singing in a group or choir and film-making were all more common in Glasgow compared to Scotland.

Participation in cultural activity by gender

Female cultural participation levels were higher than males for both Glasgow and Scotland. In Glasgow, 69% of women and girls participated in cultural activities, compared to 58.2% of men and boys. Participation levels for both genders were lower in Glasgow than in Scotland as a whole, where 79.2% of women and girls and 67.8% of men and boys took part.

Participation in cultural activity by age

Participation in cultural activities in Glasgow was slightly higher among individuals aged 60 and over compared to younger age groups. Participation in cultural activities was lower in Glasgow than in Scotland as a whole across all age groups.

Participation in cultural activity by deprivation

Both nationally and at a Glasgow level, people from the most deprived areas were less likely to participate in cultural activities (55.2% in the most deprived 20% compared to 71.8% in the least deprived in Glasgow). For those living in the 20% most-deprived areas, participation in Glasgow was 55.2%, compared to 59.7% across Scotland.

Participation in cultural activity by long-standing illness, health problem or disability

Those with long-term illnesses or disabilities were less likely to participate in cultural activities, particularly if they are based in Glasgow. Just 55.3% of people with a long-term health condition (that causes major reduced daily capacity) participated in cultural activities in Glasgow in 2023 compared to 66.8% with no long-term health condition. Across Scotland the gap was smaller with 71.4% with a long-term health condition compared to 74.6% with no long-term health condition.

Notes

It should be noted that many of the apparent differences in the figures between Glasgow and Scotland (and other areas) may not be significant due to the relatively small sample sizes of the survey data. 

This page was last updated in February 2025.