Statistical presentation

Data description

The Cultural Habits Survey is an interview based quarterly survey among a random sample of Danish residents 16 years or older, which documents the consumption of cultural and recreational activities. The survey documents how many people participate in and make use of various cultural activities as well as the manner in which they do so. The survey is structured around a framework of cultural topics adapted to Danish conditions from UNESCO's framework for cultural statistics. Read more about the the cultural topics classification on Statistics Denmark's website. The following cultural topics are covered by the survey:

• Music
• Performing arts
• Visual arts
• Film and series
• News
• Museums and other exhibitions
• Cultural heritage
• Literature
• Libraries
• Digital games
• Exercise and sports events

In addition to these cultural topics the survey also covers a series of recreational topics:

• Spare time activities
• Volunteering
• Participation in voluntary associations

With few exceptions, the survey covers participation in cultural and recreational activities and not self-directed activities. The exceptions are playing music, performing performing arts, creating visual art, engaging in exercise, engaging in volunteer work, participating in voluntary associations, crafts, house improvement, gardening, mechanical or technical work as a hobby, hunting and fishing, and use of nature.

Within the framework of these cultural and recreational activities the Cultural Habits Survey documents the following general topics:

• Frequency of participation in cultural and spare time activities
• Location of participation (e.g. at home, away from home, during travel)
• Location of participation in relation to place of living (locally, in Denmark or abroad)
• Type or genre of each cultural activity one participates in
• Manner of participation (e.g. means of access, paid vs. free access)
• Barriers for participation (e.g. price and accessibility)
• With whom one participates (e.g. partner, friends or children)
• Who participates (different demographic groups)

Not all of the above types of questions will be relevant for all cultural topics and a few questions will not fall within the above types of questions.

Frequency is measured by asking respondents how often they have engaged in a particular activity within the past 12 months. For activities that are presumed to be engaged in often (e.g. listening to music) the most frequent possible answer is "Once or multiple times a day", while for activities presumed to be less frequently engaged in (e.g. attending a concert) the equivalent option is "Once or multiple times a week".

The consumption of certain cultural activities are further divided into genres. These lists of genres have been compiled in close cooperation with the survey's monitoring group, which besides the Ministry of Culture and Statistics Denmark comprises subject matter experts from both practical and academic institutions.

Cultural activities are defined without regard for technology. I.e. respondents are asked about their consumption of e.g. literature irrespective of whether the consumption is carried out through physical books, e-books or audio books. Consumption of the performing arts include both the consumption of live performances and watching recorded performing arts e.g. via television or streaming. Participation in a cultural activity is counted irrespective of whether the activity occurred in Denmark or abroad.

The survey is carried out by means of quarterly surveys of a randomly sampled part of the population of Danish adult residents, in the period from the first of quarter of 2024 and onwards. Respondents are surveyed about their cultural habits within the past 12 months per the time of asking. The questionnaire contains a fixed part used in all quarters, as well as a series of questions which are replaced yearly. These non-fixed questions are part of a three year-cycle such that e.g. the questions asked in year 1 will be asked again in year 4.

Membership for youth and outdoor activities organisations by organisation

The results of the Cultural Habits Survey are supplemented by a count of the membership of youth and outdoor associations in Denmark.

Memberships of youth and outdoor organisations, total corresponds to the sum of the membership of the Danish Scout Association, FDF - a Christian organisation for children and youth in Denmark, the Green Girl Guides in Denmark, YMCA Scouts in Denmark, Danish Baptist Scout Association and DUI-LEG og VIRKE - a children's association.

Up to and including 2016 membership counts for the DCU (Danish Camping Association) counts individual members. Starting from 2017 family memberships are counts. As a result, a small discontinuity occurs in the statistic.

Classification system

In quarterly statistics, the statistic is grouped by the demographic variables age, gender, education and urbanisation. Participation in cultural activities is also grouped by frequency.

Age

• 16-24 years old
• 25-34 years old
• 35-44 years old
• 45-54 years old
• 55-64 years old
• 65-74 years old
• 75+ years old

Gender

• Men
• Women

Education

• No education or education not stated
• Primary education
• Upper secondary education
• Vocational education and training
• Short cycle higher education and vocational bachelors educations
• Bachelors programs, masters programs incl. PhD programs

Degree of urbanisation

Degree of urbanisation is grouped by the top level codes of the classification DEGURBA. Read more about the classification on (Statistics Denmark's website](https://www.dst.dk/da/Statistik/dokumentation/nomenklaturer/degurba-dst).

• Densely-populated area
• Intermediate area
• Thinly-populated area

Frequency - high-frequency activities

• Once or multiple times a day
• 4-6 times a week
• 1-3 times a week
• 1-2 times within 3 months
• Less often
• I have not done that within the last 12 months
• Don't know
• Do not wish to answer

Frequency - low-frequency activities

• Once or multiple times a week
• 1-3 times a month
• 1-2 times within 3 months
• 2-3 times within the last 12 months
• Once within the last 12 months
• I have not done that within the last 12 months
• Don't know
• Do not wish to answer

Sector coverage

Not relevant for these statistics.

Statistical concepts and definitions

Cultural activity: Cultural and leisure activities are based on the UN's list of cultural areas and thus reflect the Ministry of Culture's work on cultural and leisure activities. Cultural activity is divided into the following cultural areas and cultural institutions in the study: films and series, news, music, literature, performing arts, visual arts, digital games, physical exercise, leisure activities, volunteer work, library and museums, exhibitions and cultural heritage. Cultural institutions are institutions that provide cultural services to the citizens. Examples of cultural institutions are libraries, cinemas, museums, theaters and venues, etc.

Cultural consumption: Culture consumption is participation in cultural and leisure activities. Participation can take the form of various activities, including visits (e.g. visits to museums or the library), experiences (e.g. performing arts or sporting events), listening (music, literature or news), watching (movies, series, news, performing arts, etc.), purposeful observation (visual art), performance (e.g. physical exercise or volunteer work) and reading (literature, news).

Statistical unit

Persons.

Statistical population

The population is residents of Denmark 16 years of age or older.

Reference area

The statistic covers cultural habits both within Denmark and abroad.

Time coverage

2024-.

Base period

Not relevant for these statistics.

Unit of measure

Percentage.

Reference period

Quarters and years.

Frequency of dissemination

Quarterly and yearly.

Legal acts and other agreements

Participation in the study is voluntary and therefore does not require collection permission.

Cost and burden

The reporting burden is not calculated for these statistics as participation in the survey is voluntary.

Comment

Additional information can be found at the subject page for cultural and recreational activities.