Scottish Household Survey 2025 findings: Cultural Engagement

Summary of key findings

This report draws on data from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) 2025 to explore cultural engagement, attendance, participation, attitudes and perceptions relating to culture and heritage in Scotland. It also gives additional detail across various demographic characteristics, and for people living in different places.

This report found:

Cultural engagement

• In 2025, cultural engagement is high. Nine in ten respondents (90%) were culturally engaged through attendance at a cultural event or place, participation in a cultural activity, or both. This has increased from 88% in 2023.
• Around four in five respondents (79%) attended a cultural event or place during the previous 12 months, an increase from 76% in 2023. This is just slightly below the pre-pandemic level recorded in 2019 (81%).
• Around three in four respondents (76%) participated in a cultural activity, an increase from 74% in 2023.

Attendance and participation

• Cinema is the most commonly attended cultural event or place (53%). Reading books, poetry and graphic novels or comics for pleasure is the most common cultural activity (64%) to participate in.
• Libraries and museums recorded the largest increases in attendance between 2023 and 2025 (both around six percentage points), followed by live music events, theatres and historic places. Participation also increased across a range of creative and digital activities.
• Attendance and participation were generally higher among respondents with qualifications, those living in less deprived areas and those in higher-income households.
• There were notable differences by qualification level. Respondents with a degree or professional qualification were more likely to attend a cultural event or place during the previous 12 months than respondents with no qualifications (91% compared with 47%). Participation ranged from 89% among respondents with a degree or professional qualification, to 53% among respondents with no qualifications.

Aspirations, barriers and satisfaction

• Around half of respondents (51%) wanted to attend at least one cultural event or place more often, while around one third (32%) aspired to participate in at least one cultural activity. Both measures increased compared with 2023.
• Several barriers were reported more frequently in 2025 than in 2023. Lack of time is the most commonly reported barrier to attendance (19%) and participation (16%). The cost of tickets was also a commonly reported barrier to attendance (17%).
• Satisfaction with Local Authority cultural services remained high, with over nine in ten users satisfied with libraries (92%), museums and galleries (92%), and theatres and concert halls (91%).

Impact of culture and heritage

• Nine in ten respondents (90%) agreed that it is important that Scotland’s heritage is well looked after, while 70% agreed that the heritage of their local area is well looked after.
• Several perceived benefits of culture and the arts changed significantly between 2023 and 2025. The proportion of respondents reporting that culture and the arts improve their mental health and wellbeing increased from 39% to 48%.
• More than half of respondents agreed that culture and the arts make a positive difference to their local community (57%) and their own life (52%).
• At the same time, the proportion reporting that culture and the arts help them learn new skills and knowledge fell, from 24% to 19% between 2023 and 2025. The proportion of respondents reporting that culture and the arts help them feel part of their local community also fell from 17% in 2023 to 13% in 2025.