Generation Z, which refers to people born in the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, are now dominating China's digital reading market, as 70 percent of the nation's more than 500 million digital readers are younger than 26 years old, according to a new report.

About 45 percent of digital readers in China are aged between 19 and 25, and about 27 percent of them are under the age of 18, according to the 2021 China Digital Reading report released by China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association on Saturday.

In 2021, the overall scale of China's digital reading industry reached 41.57 billion yuan ($6.39 billion), with a growth rate of 18.23 percent, said the report, which was released at a digital reading forum held by Migu, a subsidiary of China Mobile, that provides digital content and cultural services.

By the end of last year, China had 506 million digital readers, with a year-on-year growth rate of 2.43 percent. On average, they read 11.58 e-books per year.