How Many Bookstores are there?

Number of bookstores in the US

As of 2020 according to the US Census there were around 10,800 bookstores in all, ranging from small, independent retailers to major chains in the US.
The number of bookstores has been decreasing in the US since 2012 from 16,819 stores to 10,800 as of 2020.
There were 2,023 independent book companies running 2,506 stores between 2019 and 2021.
This is a 44% drop in the number of bookstores overall in the US.
On average, there was one bookstore per 54,299 people in the US as of 2019.
In 2018 in addition to the 6,143 employer bookstores, there were also 8,109 nonemployer bookstores.

Displayed in the charts below is the number of bookstores in the US from 2012 to 2020:

By the end of 2022, data shows that there were 1,072 independent bookstores in the UK and Ireland.
This is the highest number of bookstores in 10 years and marks a sixth consecutive year of growth. Before this growth the number of bookshops steadily decreased to 867 between 1996 and 2016.
In 2009, there were 1,040 specialised book stores in the UK, the lowest number in the 10 year period.
Since then figures have increased reaching 1,050 bookstores as of 2018.

Displayed in the charts below is the number of UK bookstores by year:

No official figures exist for the actual number of bookstores in Canada currently. However it is estimated there are at least 2000.
Of these 2000 stores, about 605 are independently owned, 466 are part of a bookstore chain, 127 are college or university outlets, 290 are religious bookstores, and approximately 319 are retailers who sell books.
Around 45% of these stores are located in Ontario, by far the largest market for books in Canada; 25% in British Columbia and Prairie region approximately 20%. The remaining 10% of these stores are throughout the Maritimes and Québec.
In 2021, there were approximately 300 bookstores and news dealers in Ontario. In other words, there were more of these outlets in Ontario than in any other Canadian province. Quebec also had a high number at roughly 280 establishments.

As of early 2023 there are 1,457 bookstores in Australia.
Since 2013 the number of bookstores in Australia dropped 65.5% from 2,879 to 1,457 in 2023.
The number of bookstores in Australia declined 6.2% per year on average over the five years between 2018 and 2023.
The book industry makes a significant contribution to the Australian economy with a market size of $1.7 billion and sustaining around a thousand businesses.

Displayed in the charts below are the number of bookstores in Australia by year:

With 35.97 bookstores per 100,000 people, Lisbon is the city with the most bookstores per capita.
Lisbon has more bookstores per capita than the runner up, Melbourne, Australia, taking second place with 33.9 bookstores per 100,000 people.
Not far behind Lisbon and Melbourne is Nanjing with 29.37 bookstores per 100,000 people and Buenos Aires with 20.1 bookstores per capita.

Displayed in the charts below are the top 5 cities with the most bookstores per capita:

Although Lisbon is topping the charts with most bookstores per capita, Shanghai takes the lead with the most bookstores in a city housing 3,800 bookstores.
Following Shanghai is Chengdu with 3,463 and Nanjing with 2,768 bookstores occupying their cities.
Cities with over 1,000 bookstores are Melbourne (1,649), Tokyo (1,579), São Paulo (1,241), Paris (1,105) and Hong Kong (1,070).
All other major cities house bookstores well in their hundreds.

Displayed below is the top 10 cities with the most bookstores: