In order to understand the size of the book industry, we researched and compiled book publishing statistics; specifically we breakdown how many books are published each year.
Number of books published each year
- As of November 23rd, 2021, there have been 2,4650,286 new book title published this year.
- A 2013 analysis estimated 2.2 million new book titles are published worldwide each yearAs of 2013, there are approximately 2.2 million new book titles published worldwide each year on average.
Number of books published each year by major US publishers
As of 2019, the four major book publishers in the US were responsible for publishing:
- Penguin Random House – 85,000 books
- HarperCollins – 10,000 books
- Simon & Schuster – 2,000 books
- Hachette Book Group – 2,100 books
Number of books published each year per country
- By 2019, the total number of books published in the U.S. exceeded 4 million in that year alone
- nearly 1.7 million books were self-published in the U.S. in 2018,
- 20 million previously published books are still available through many sources
The US and China publish more books than any other country per year, even when referencing 2013 data in comparison to other countries’ 2018-2020 data:
Rank | Country | Year | Titles |
1 | United States | 2013 | 275,232 |
2 | China | 2013 | 208,418 |
3 | United Kingdom | 2018 | 188,000 |
4 | Japan | 2017 | 139,078 |
128 | Indonesia | 2020 | 135,081 |
5 | Russia | 2019 | 115,171 |
7 | France | 2018 | 106,799 |
6 | Iran | 2018 | 102,691 |
8 | India | 2013 | 90,000 |
9 | Spain | 2017 | 89,962 |
10 | Germany | 2018 | 79,916 |
11 | Turkey | 2019 | 75,667 |
12 | South Korea | 2018 | 63,476 |
13 | Italy | 2013 | 61,966 |
14 | Brazil | 2018 | 46,829 |
15 | Australia | 2014 | 28,234 |
16 | Taiwan | 2010 | 28,084 |
17 | Argentina | 2014 | 28,010 |
18 | Vietnam | 2009 | 24,589 |
19 | Ukraine | 2019 | 24,416 |
20 | Poland | 2015 | 21,130 |
21 | Czech Republic | 2019 | 17,330 |
22 | Colombia | 2017 | 17,066 |
23 | Netherlands | 2014 | 16,502 |
24 | Malaysia | 2015 | 15,354 |
25 | Romania | 2008 | 14,984 |
26 | Canada | 2018 | 14,625 |
27 | Hong Kong | 2005 | 14,603 |
28 | Belgium | 1991 | 13,913 |
32 | Denmark | 2020 | 13,096 |
33 | Switzerland | 2001 | 12,156 |
34 | Singapore | 2007 | 12,000+ |
35 | Egypt | 2010 | 12,000 |
36 | Serbia | 2019 | 11,897 |
37 | Hungary | 2012 | 11,645 |
38 | Norway | 2015 | 10,204 |
39 | Bulgaria | 2017 | 10,068 |
40 | Slovakia | 2006 | 9,400 |
29 | Finland | 2018 | 9,368 |
41 | Israel | 2013 | 8,411 |
31 | Belarus | 2020 | 8,205 |
42 | Austria | 1996 | 8,056 |
43 | Portugal | 1996 | 7,868 |
44 | Mexico | 2012 | 7,521 |
45 | Greece | 2002 | 6,826 |
30 | Thailand | 2018 | 6,750 |
46 | Chile | 2012 | 5,641 |
47 | South Africa | 1995 | 5,418 |
48 | Sri Lanka | 1996 | 4,115 |
49 | Peru | 2006 | 4,101 |
50 | Sweden | 2010 | 4,074 |
51 | Algeria | 2008 | 3,955 |
52 | Estonia | 2017 | 3,916 |
54 | Pakistan | 2012 | 3,811 |
55 | Lebanon | 2005 | 3,686 |
56 | Morocco | 2018/2019 | 3677 |
57 | Myanmar | 1993 | 3,660 |
58 | New Zealand | 2003 | 3,600 |
76 | Uruguay | 2018 | 3,231 |
63 | Lithuania | 2018 | 3,075 |
63 | Latvia | 2018 | 2,910 |
59 | Ecuador | 2010 | 2,854 |
60 | Afghanistan | 1990 | 2,795 |
53 | Saudi Arabia | 2014 | 2,387 |
61 | Venezuela | 2018 | 2,275 |
67 | Costa Rica | 2018 | 2,158 |
62 | Luxembourg | 2001 | 2,000 |
75 | Dominican Republic | 2018 | 1,866 |
66 | Iceland | 2019 | 1,767 |
77 | Bolivia | 2018 | 1,578 |
64 | Philippines | 1996 | 1,507 |
84 | Kyrgyzstan | 2018 | 1,455 |
68 | Nigeria | 1991 | 1,314 |
69 | Kazakhstan | 1996 | 1,226 |
70 | Syria | 2004 | 1,138 |
83 | Guatemala | 2018 | 1,042 |
88 | Paraguay | 2018 | 1,007 |
71 | Uzbekistan | 1996 | 1,003 |
65 | Cuba | 2018 | 992 |
72 | Eritrea | 2015 | 970 |
81 | Panama | 2018 | 940 |
73 | Cyprus | 1996 | 930 |
74 | Tunisia | 1996 | 720 |
96 | El Salvador | 2018 | 661 |
78 | Georgia | 1996 | 581 |
79 | Azerbaijan | 1996 | 542 |
80 | Jordan | 1996 | 511 |
82 | Turkmenistan | 1994 | 450 |
85 | Malta | 1995 | 404 |
86 | Fiji | 1994 | 401 |
87 | Armenia | 1996 | 396 |
89 | Albania | 1991 | 390 |
91 | Kenya | 1994 | 300 |
92 | United Arab Emirates | 1993 | 293 |
94 | Uganda | 1996 | 288 |
95 | Mongolia | 1992 | 285 |
97 | Ethiopia | 1991 | 240 |
98 | Zimbabwe | 1992 | 232 |
99 | Vatican City | 1996 | 228 |
100 | Qatar | 1996 | 209 |
101 | Kuwait | 1992 | 196 |
102 | Tanzania | 1990 | 172 |
103 | Botswana | 1991 | 158 |
104 | Tajikistan | 1996 | 132 |
105 | Papua New Guinea | 1991 | 122 |
106 | Madagascar | 1996 | 119 |
107 | Malawi | 1996 | 117 |
108 | Palestine | 1996 | 114 |
109 | Namibia | 1990 | 106 |
93 | Honduras | 2018 | 102 |
110 | Brunei | 2009 | 91 |
111 | Laos | 1995 | 88 |
112 | Benin | 1994 | 84 |
113 | Mauritius | 1996 | 80 |
114 | Réunion | 1992 | 69 |
115 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1992 | 64 |
116 | Andorra | 1994 | 57 |
117 | Suriname | 1996 | 47 |
117 | American Samoa | 1980 | 46 |
118 | Guyana | 1996 | 42 |
119 | Monaco | 1990 | 41 |
120 | Bahrain | 1996 | 40 |
121 | Ghana | 1992 | 28 |
90 | Nicaragua | 2018 | 27 |
122 | Libya | 1994 | 26 |
123 | Angola | 1995 | 22 |
124 | Mali | 1995 | 14 |
125 | Gambia | 1996 | 14 |
126 | Burkina Faso | 1996 | 12 |
127 | Oman | 1996 | 7 |
The number of ISBNs registered to a country indicates how many books the publishing industry is responsible for producing.
- The US has the most registered ISBNs than any other country, with 3.3 million more the UK, the country with the 2nd most
Rank | Country | 2018 |
1 | United States | 3,485,322 |
2 | United Kingdom | 185,721 |
3 | Germany | 139,940 |
4 | Italy | 137,397 |
5 | India | 129,326 |
6 | Russia | 103,826 |
7 | Brazil | 95,336 |
8 | Japan | 95,129 |
9 | Indonesia | 89.056 |
10 | Spain | 86,872 |
11 | Turkey | 67,135 |
12 | Canada | 61,000 |
13 | Mexico | 27,635 |
14 | Argentina | 27,428 |
15 | Colombia | 20,867 |
16 | Thailand | 20,484 |
17 | Norway | 9,209 |
18 | Netherlands | 6,143 |
19 | Ecuador | 4,744 |
20 | Nigeria | 2,465 |
21 | Guatemala | 1,137 |
22 | Honduras | 388 |