Announcement of the 2025 National Public Library Statistical Survey (Based on 2024 Data)
Total Number of Visitors Reaches 220 Million
Steady Increase in Electronic Resources, Now at 630 Million
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on May 15 that the increase in the number of public libraries nationwide has brought the number of people served per library below 40,000.
According to the "2025 National Public Library Statistical Survey (based on 2024 data)" released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Library Association, there were 1,296 public libraries nationwide last year, marking a 2.0% increase from the previous year (1,271 libraries). As a result, the number of people served per public library decreased to 39,519, improving accessibility to libraries.
The number of full-time librarians increased by 3.0% year-on-year to 6,072. Consequently, the number of people served per full-time librarian fell to 8,435, indicating an improvement in the allocation of professional staff.
The annual number of visitors per public library reached 173,000, up 8.7% from the previous year. The average number of participants in reading and cultural programs per library also rose by 5.1% to 22,366. The number of books borrowed per library was 113,227, showing a moderate upward trend.
The total number of electronic resources in public libraries reached 630 million, a 3.6% increase from the previous year, with the number of electronic resources per capita at 12.3. The number of books per capita was 2.43, a slight increase of 0.8%. However, the annual increase in the total number of library materials has been slowing, and the number of library materials per library has been on a slight decline for five consecutive years. This trend is also reflected in the expenditure on library acquisitions. The average acquisition budget per library was approximately 87 million won, a 3.7% decrease from the previous year.
This year, for the first time, a new indicator was introduced to more precisely assess the social inclusiveness and role of public libraries by dividing knowledge and information-vulnerable groups into three categories: people with disabilities, the elderly, and multicultural families. Public libraries provided more than five million services to these groups, with related budgets exceeding 14 billion won. In addition, public libraries are being transformed into open spaces accessible to all generations and social groups. Rather than establishing separate reading rooms, libraries are creating environments throughout their buildings that are friendly to knowledge and information-vulnerable groups, in line with barrier-free facility certification.
Song Yunseok, Director of Regional Culture Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "The results of this statistical survey show that public libraries are not only expanding quantitatively but are also rapidly evolving in online and digital-based services," adding, "We will continue to support public libraries so that they can serve as community-based cultural platforms for all citizens."
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