Scottish Household Survey 2025 findings: Cultural Engagement

Cultural engagement

Cultural engagement in Scotland is high. In 2025, nine in ten respondents (90%) were culturally engaged, meaning that they had attended a cultural event or place, participated in a cultural activity, or both during the previous 12 months (Figure 1). This was up from 88% in 2023 and reflected increases in both attendance and participation (Table 1, Table 2 and Table 21 in the accompanying Excel workbook).

Figure 1: Nine in ten respondents are culturally engaged in Scotland in 2025

Percentage of respondents culturally engaged in the last 12 months, 2025, Scotland.

Cultural engagement by Local Authority

Levels of cultural engagement varied across Local Authority areas in 2025 (Figure 2 and Table 1 in the accompanying Excel workbook). The highest rates of engagement were recorded in the City of Edinburgh (96%) and Stirling (95%), while North Ayrshire (80%) and Inverclyde (82%) recorded the lowest rates.

Despite this variation, cultural engagement remained high across Scotland, with at least four in five respondents culturally engaged in every Local Authority area.

Differences between Local Authorities are likely to reflect a range of factors, including local population characteristics, access to cultural opportunities and services, and the urban-rural profile of an area.

Figure 2: Cultural engagement was highest in the City of Edinburgh and Stirling in 2025[1]

Percentage of respondents who were culturally engaged in the last 12 months, by Local Authority, Scotland, 2025.