The table illustrates the proportion of adults in urban and rural areas who participated in four leisure activities — reading, animated play, playing, and photography — in 1990 and 2010.
Overall, the percentage of adults participating in reading and photography increased in both urban and rural areas, whereas participation in playing and animated play followed different trends. Notably, reading remained the most popular activity in both years and across both regions.
In 1990, 61% of urban adults were reported to have been involved in reading, 10 percentage points lower than the figure for rural areas. The proportion of urban adults who played stood at 21%, slightly lower than the 26% observed in rural areas. Over the next decade, participation in reading increased in urban areas and reached the same level as in rural areas, with both standing at 78%. In contrast, participation in playing declined steadily in urban areas, dropping by 7 percentage points, whereas the figure for rural areas remained stable at 26%.
Turning to the two least popular activities, in 1990, 18% of rural adults took part in animated play, 8 percentage points higher than in urban areas. Additionally, 14% of rural adults participated in photography, which was twice the figure for urban areas. By 2010, photography participation had risen in both areas, reaching 17% in urban and 24% in rural areas. Meanwhile, participation in animated play in urban areas remained unchanged at 10%, while in rural areas it declined slightly, from 18% to 14%.