The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released results of Survey on Participation of Residents in Cultural Activities for the second quarter of 2021. 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.
As affected by the pandemic of novel coronavirus pneumonia, the number of people participating in cultural activities showed a substantial decline compared to the same quarter last year. Some performances, exhibitions and film screenings gradually resumed as pandemic preventive routine was established. The number of individuals participating in cultural activities in the second quarter of 2021 surged by 27.0% year-on-year to 291,000. The cultural activity participation rate (the percentage of participants in cultural activities among the population aged 16 and above) grew by 12.0 percentage points year-on-year to 51.4%. There were 250,400 local residents participating in cultural activities, and the participation rate climbed by 10.7 percentage points to 54.0%.
Analysed by type of cultural activity, the most popular activity among local residents was going to libraries, with 150,900 participants, an increase of 39.4% year-on-year, and the activity participation rate rose by 8.7 percentage points to 32.5%. Student participation rate went up by 14.5 percentage points to 80.6%, which was about 2.8 times as high as the rate for non-students (28.6%). The difference between the two rates increased from 46.0 percentage points in the same quarter last year to 52.0 percentage points.
Number of local residents going to cinemas increased by 29.5% year-on-year to 124,300, and the activity participation rate climbed by 5.7 percentage points to 26.8%; yet, the number of those who had watched locally produced films and videos decreased by 14.2% to 33,200. Meanwhile, number of local residents who had watched movies on the Internet or from discs rose by 6.4% year-on-year to 315,300.
With the promotion of local tours, local residents visiting museums or World Heritage sites soared by 60.6% year-on-year to 123,100, and the activity participation rate increased by 9.8 percentage points to 26.6%. Among them, 100,800 residents visited World Heritage sites and 79,700 visited museums, representing respective growth of 57.4% and 81.4%. The average number of visits per participant dropped by 0.2 to 2.9.
There were 38,600 local residents attending performances, a decline of 5.2% year-on-year. The average attendance per participant was 2.2, a decrease of 0.2 year-on-year. Most of the local residents (30,300) watched theatre performances, and 18,600 went to music/dance performances.
Local residents attending art exhibitions totalled 28,200, an increase of 18.2% year-on-year. The average visit per participant decreased by 0.2 to 1.8. Among these local residents, 90.8% also participated in other types of cultural activities, and those who took part in three or more types of activities accounted for 74.8% of the total.