In addition to tracking newspaper consumption by brand and country our survey also benchmarks those who say they have bought a newspaper in a given week. Newspaper purchase does not equate to readership, particularly with the popularity of free papers and the increased bundling of online and print. In addition it should be noted that the figures in our online survey will not match the accuracy of face-to-face surveys or audited circulation figures in this regard. This question may also under-represent newspaper purchase in high-subscription countries like Denmark and Finland, as many of those who pay quarterly/annually may have answered no. Brazil is also an urban sample.

A number of countries have shown a significant decline in newspaper purchase over the last two years including Germany (-9), Japan (-7), US (-7), and the UK (-8). In Japan much of that loss has come from under 35s who are embracing digital ways of accessing news but purchase by over 55s remains strong (73%). In the United States, by contrast, print has lost readers across all age groups, with less than half of over 55s (48%) purchasing and less than a quarter (24%) of under 35s.