Participation rates of Scottish adults in various cultural activities by age

The table illustrates the participation levels of 6,800 Scottish adults across six different cultural activities, categorised by three age groups over a 12-month period. Overall, the data reveals that engagement in cultural activities varies considerably depending on the age of the participants.

Younger adults aged 16-24 were the most active participants in performance-related activities, visual arts, and writing, with figures of 35%, 30%, and 17% respectively. In contrast, these activities saw a steady decline in participation as age increased. For instance, involvement in any performance dropped to 22% for the 25-44 age group and further to 17% for those aged 45-74. Similarly, participation in visual arts plummeted from 30% in the youngest bracket to just 11% in the oldest.

Conversely, activities such as undertaking crafts and making cultural purchases were more popular among older demographics. Craft participation rose from 11% in the 16-24 age group to a peak of 22% among those aged 45-74. Cultural purchases followed a similar upward trend, increasing from 11% to 18% across the same age ranges. Computer-based activities remained relatively low overall, peaking at 10% for the youngest group and declining to 5% for the oldest.