The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of Survey on Participation of Residents in Cultural Activities for the second quarter of 2023. This Survey aims to collect information on participation of individuals aged 16 and above in cultural activities in the six months prior to the date of interview. Cultural activities include going to the cinema, going to a library, visiting a museum or World Heritage site, and attending a performance or art exhibition. The data for this year were compared with those in the second quarter of 2021, as the Survey was suspended in the second quarter of 2022 due to the pandemic of novel coronavirus pneumonia.

The number of individuals participating in cultural activities in the second quarter of 2023 totalled 276,800. The cultural activity participation rate (the percentage of participants in cultural activities among the population aged 16 and above) dropped by 1.1 percentage points to 50.3% compared to the same period of 2021. The number of local population participating in cultural activities totalled 242,800, and the participation rate decreased by 1.9 percentage points to 52.1%.

Analysed by type of cultural activity, the most popular activity among the local population was going to cinemas, with 144,600 participants, an increase of 16.4% compared to the same quarter two years ago. The activity participation rate climbed by 4.2 percentage points to 31.0%, and the average number of cinema visits per participant was 2.7. Among these participants, 25.7% had watched locally produced films and videos.

Local population going to libraries totalled 125,000, a decrease of 17.1% from the corresponding period in 2021; the activity participation rate dropped by 5.7 percentage points to 26.8%. Student participation rate went down by 10.2 percentage points to 70.4%, which was about 3.1 times as high as the rate for non-students (23.1%).

Local population visiting museums or World Heritage sites fell sharply by 36.2% to 78,600 as against the same quarter two years ago, and the activity participation rate dipped by 9.8 percentage points to 16.8%; the decline was due mainly to the substantial increase in the number of participants in this activity amid the promotion of local tours in 2021. Meanwhile, the average number of visits per participant increased by 0.2 to 3.1. Numbers of local population visiting World Heritage sites (59,500) and museums (50,000) declined by 41.0% and 37.3% respectively.

With the gradual resumption of social activities, number of local population who had attended performances rose by 30.2% to 50,200 compared to the same quarter of 2021. The average attendance per participant edged up by 0.1 to 2.3. Most of the local population (35,300) watched music/dance performances, and 24,700 went to theatre performances.

Local population attending art exhibitions totalled 31,700, an increase of 12.3% from the same period two years ago. The average visit per participant went up by 0.4 to 2.2. Among these local participants, 93.0% also participated in other types of cultural activities, and those who took part in three or more types of activities accounted for 74.4% of the total.