Sharjah: 1.82 million visitors attend book fair this year; most of them aged 35 to 44

On November 17, the 43rd edition of Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) was wrapped up after 12 days of various cultural activities, drawing 1.82 million visitors from over 200 nationalities.

The big reading event featured participation from more than 2,500 publishers and exhibitors from 112 countries.

Over just 48 hours, the fair hosted 3,000 meetings for the exchange of publishing rights, underscoring its pivotal role in supporting the global publishing industry.

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People who attended the fair this year were mostly from the UAE, India, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan.

Among non-student visitors, those aged between 35 and 44 years old made up the majority of attendees (32.18 per cent) followed by those aged between 25 and 34 (31.67 per cent), then young men and women aged 18 to 24 (13.7 per cent).

In a sign of growing efforts to promote a culture of reading among younger generations, 135,000 students from schools across the UAE attended SIBF this year.

Men represented 53.66 per cent of the visitors and women represented 46.36 per cent.

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