In order to better understand the role of religious books in the book industry, we researched, analyzed, and compiled religious book sales figure statistics.
- As of 2022, religious book sales have reached a total revenue of 757.7 million dollars.
- Sales revenue of religious books increased by 7.46% compared to 2021 and has increased for the third consecutive year.
- 2022 marks the fifth year in a row that the sales of religious books have surpassed 600 million and, for the second time, went over $700 million.
- Over the last 10 years, religious book sales have increased by over 32.5%.
- Religious material is sold mainly in print formats, making up for 76% of the category’s sales.
- 61.7% of total sales came from the hardcover format, accounting for over $435.7 million in revenue.
- 12.5% of religious sales come from digital formats, with e-books accounting for 6.9% and audiobooks contributing 5.6% of the revenue.
| Year | Religious books sales revenue ($ million) | Change |
| 2012 | $576.6 | |
| 2013 | $572.0 | -0.80% |
| 2014 | $554.0 | -3.15% |
| 2015* | $455.2 | -17.83% |
| 2016* | $493.0 | 8.30% |
| 2017 | $568.0 | 15.21% |
| 2018 | $644.9 | 13.54% |
| 2019 | $640.6 | -0.67% |
| 2020 | $667.2 | 4.15% |
| 2021 | $705.10 | 5.68% |
| 2022 | $757.70 | 7.46% |
- Religion publishing is worth over $1.27 billion as of 2022, which is a 10.56% decrease over 2021.
- This figure combines religious press revenue with the revenue of religious books from other sources.
- Over the last 7 years, the religion publishing industry’s value increased by more than 20.8%.
- The only years with negative growth in the industry were 2020 and 2022.
- As of 2020, over 179 million copies of religious books are sold in a year.
| Year | Religious book market value ($ billion) | Change |
| 2016 | $1.05 | |
| 2017 | $1.18 | 12.60% |
| 2018 | $1.25 | 5.90% |
| 2019 | $1.27 | 1.00% |
| 2020 | $1.16 | -8.00% |
| 2021 | $1.42 | 21.90% |
| 2022 | $1.27 | -10.56% |
Christian bookstores statistics
- Back in 1983, there were 3,290 Christian bookstores that were generating over $1 billion in revenue.
- By 2005, the number of bookstores dropped to 2,256, while one year later, in 2016, there were only around 1,128 Christian bookstores remaining.
- Less than 1,000 Christian bookstores remain open in the US as of 2020, including church bookshops.
- Less than 20% of all Christian book sales go through these bookshops, while the remaining 80% is sold through other channels.
- Years ago, the situation was the opposite – more than 80% of Christian books were sold through Christian bookstores.
Best-selling religious books of all time
As of 2015, the Guinness Book of World Records estimated that the Bible is the best-selling religious book of all time and the best-selling book overall.
- It is estimated that between 5 and 7 billion copies of the Bible have been sold.
- Over 800 million copies of The Holy Quran have been sold worldwide. However, some estimates suggest that over 3 billion copies of the book could be printed.
- The Book of Mormon has been translated into over 122 languages and sold over 185 million copies worldwide.