A representative sample of the population answered questions about access to and use of physical and digital cultural activities. In 2025, interviews were conducted with 3,038 individuals, resulting in a response rate of 50.7 percent.

The results of the Norwegian Culture Barometer in 2025 reveal a stabilization of cultural participation in the population after the covid-19-pandemic years. The previous survey, conducted in 2023, demonstrated a significant increase in physical attendance compared with 2021. From 2023 to 2025, the changes are considerably smaller. Looking back to the last survey before the pandemic, in 2016, we find that for some cultural activities the attendance has returned to nearly the same level in 2025 as before the pandemic, while other activities remain on a lower level of attendance.

Libraries were among the cultural services that did not experience as extensive closures during the pandemic years, as other venues. Nevertheless, we observed a decline from 2016 to 2021. In 2025, however, library attendance stabilized at levels similar to those before the pandemic. On the other hand, visits to the cinema does not follow along this trend. In 2016, 72 percent of the population went to the cinema at least once a year; in 2025, the percentage has decreased to 62. Even so, cinema remains the most popular cultural activity.

Children and young people are the most active users of cultural activities. Those aged 9 to 15 were the most frequent visitors to libraries, cinemas, theatres, museums, and sports events in 2025. As many as eight out of ten children in this age group visited a library within a year, and it is an offering that saw an increased in attendance across all age groups from 2023 to 2025.

In 2016, half of the population reported having attended the theatre, but in 2025 this applied to only 37 percent. The decline in theatre attendance is most prevalent among those aged 16 to 66. Opera and dance performances, on the other hand, have maintained stable level of visits. 8 percent saw an opera performance in 2025, while 14 percent attended a ballet or dance performance. 46 percent of the population visited a museum in 2025, which is roughly the same share as in 2016. However, slightly fewer visited an art exhibition in 2025 compared with 2016.

Concerts are the second most popular cultural activity in 2025, only 2 percentage points behind cinema. In contrast to cinema, concert attendance has increased since 2021, and the total number of concerts attended per year is rising. There was also a slight increase in attendance at festivals, compared with the previous survey. 32 percent of the population went to a festival in 2025.

Attendance at sports events was somewhat lower in 2025 compared with the past 30 years. 49 percent attended a sports event in 2025, down from 55 percent in 2016. 28 percent of the population were members of a sports team or sports club. As in previous surveys, sports events are most popular among men, while women more often than men attended cultural activities other than sports. 28 percent of the population reported attending a religious or life stance community meeting in 2025, a slightly lower participation rate compared with surveys conducted before the pandemic years.

A majority of the population expresses a desire to attend cultural events more often, especially concerts with 64 percent, followed by cinema with 62 percent. In contrast, only 32 percent wish to visit libraries more frequently. Among those who wish to attend cultural offerings more often, financial reasons, as well as lack of time and more interesting options are the most common barriers in 2025.