Almost Half Of Icelanders Play Music For Leisure

New data compiled by Statistics Iceland shed light on the Icelandic population’s music habits. Conducted in 2023 as part of its Media and Culture Barometer, the findings demonstrate the role of music in people’s daily lives.

According to the findings, music plays a big role in the daily lives of Icelanders.

Almost all people (94 percent) listen to music in general, spending on average a total of 78 minutes per day on the activity. Music was in second place following TV and streaming service consumption, but respondents claimed to spend more time listening to music than on social media (66 minutes). Approximately three out of four households pay for a music streaming platform.

Musical activity was also found to be widespread, with 48 percent of respondents claiming they sing or play an instrument for leisure. This makes music the nation’s most popular cultural hobby. Fifty-nine percent of Icelanders attended a concert over the course of 12 months — the highest proportion of art and cultural event participation, with historical site (58 percent) and museum visits (57 percent) ranking below it.

The data is part of Statistics Iceland’s experimental statistics, and the exact results are not fully verified by the institution.

Writer’s note: The article erroneously stated that 94 percent of Icelanders listen to music daily. Instead, the proportion relates to music listening in general.