The Maltese read the least number of books within the EU, according to new data on culture released by Eurostat.

Europeans were asked whether they have read a book in the past 12 months. Only 45 per cent of Maltese respondents answered yes, the lowest proportion among the 27 member states, with Portugal only slightly higher at 50 per cent.

The Dutch are the most avid readers, with 84 per cent saying they had read at least one book in the previous year.

The Maltese get their culture mainly via the TV. Eighty one per cent said they had viewed a cultural programme in the past 12 months. This was followed by going to the cinema (49 per cent), visiting historical monuments (47 per cent), going to a concert (32 per cent) and attending the theatre (25 per cent).

More than three quarters of the EU's population had watched or listened to a cultural programme on TV or radio in the preceding 12 months and 71 per cent had read at least one book.

The use of most other cultural facilities was limited to a minority of EU27 citizens, except for visiting historical monuments and going to the cinema, which attracted 54 per cent and 51 per cent of the population respectively.

Museums and galleries, concerts, public libraries and the theatre attracted between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of the EU population, while fewer than 20 per cent went to ballet and opera.

The new EU statistics, the first of their kind, also delve into other aspects of culture like cultural employment.

According to Eurostat, in 2005, 3,400 people worked directly in the cultural sphere in Malta, or 2.3 per cent of all workers. This category includes professional activities such as librarians, writers, performing artists, musicians and architects.

In the same year, Malta also had the highest proportion of university students following an arts course at university level (10.9 per cent), followed by Ireland (10.2 per cent) and the United Kingdom (6.5 per cent).