BERLIN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A new survey published by the Allensbach Institute (IfD) on Friday found that the young generation in Germany is less inclined to read than the old.

While 58 percent of 16 to 29-year-olds in Germany indicate that reading is a part of life, this figure is much higher for the older generation, with 76 percent for respondents 60 years and older. Almost every third German aged 16 to 29-year-olds believes that reading is no longer as important today because there are other ways to get information. Only 19 percent of respondents 60 years and older agree with that assessment.

Whereas more than two in three respondents 60 years and older agree that "reading is fun", this figure drops to 45 percent for young readers.

Emails, mobile app messages and text message make up most of the reading material for a huge majority, 91 percent, of 16 to 29-year-olds. For respondents 60 years and older, newspapers are the most read (87 percent). Only 35 percent of 16 to 29-year-olds read books for fun, whereas this figure stands at 55 percent for older respondents.

This survey comes out at the eve of the International Literacy Day this coming Saturday with celebrations in several countries.