The drop in museum visitors reveals a nation without aspiration or hope | Jonathan Jones

A government report shows that visitor numbers to UK museums and galleries are down by millions. This is not due to distracted young minds – it is a symptom of economic strife

Britain’s leading museums and galleries, according to figures released by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, have dramatically lost visitors. Museums including the Tate galleries, National Gallery, V&A and British Museum collectively clocked up 47.6 million people from April 2015 to March 2016 – a significant fall from the previous year and the end of a British museum boom that had become a matter of national pride. Our museums are no longer on the up; the culture-hungry crowds are not growing. Why? And what is to be done?

Related: British museums and art galleries hit by 2m fall in visitors

In 2015-16 there were 47.6m visits to DCMS-sponsored museums. This was a decline of 6.2% on 2014/15, and a decline of 2.8% when Tyne and Wear museums are excluded from 2014-15.

In 2015-16, there were 7.9m child visits to DCMS-sponsored museums. This was a 14.4% decrease on 2014-15, and a decline of 1.8% when Tyne and Wear museums and the Horniman museum are excluded from 2014-15.

Related: Changing of the guard at great arts venues may be end of a golden era

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