I came across a really fascinating infographic created by the folks at Global English Editing. It’s an overview of reading habits around the world, and a quick snapshot of how 2020 looks when it comes to reading.
I was surprised to learn that the U.S. comes in 22nd when it comes to the “most reading” category. India is first, followed by Thailand, China, and the Philippines. But even though Americans are far down on the list of who reads the most, we’re in second place when it comes to publishing the most books, behind only China.
Unsurprisingly, physical books (hardcover and paperback combined) account for just over 70% of all books sold. That’s a lot! E-books are only 10% with all other formats making up the remaining 20%.
It appears coronavirus provided an unexpected silver lining for publishers, with 35% of the world’s population reporting they read more than usual this year, and 14% reporting they read “significantly more.”
While it’s sad that 27% of Americans report reading zero books in the last year, it’s pretty cool that the average (mean) number of books read by Americans is 12 per year, while the median (typical) number of books read is 4 per year. Interestingly, this number has remained stable since 2011.
There’s a lot more! Click over to the infographic to see for yourself.
Do any of these stats surprise you?
That was fascinating. Thank you for sharing it.
I didn’t realize that China published so many books or that we weren’t better readers. Come on guys! I’m doing my part though, ha!
What do they read in Timbuktu,
peruse in Timbuk3?
Perhaps they’s like a book or two
of my poetry.
And what of Madagascar,
do they need my advice?
Not something that they asked for,
so I’ll pitch self-help half-price.
And what in Nunavut might please,
what would the heart inspire?
My modern take on ‘War and Peace’
could light many a fire
so there print version I will sell
for Kindle does not burn too well.
The international stats don’t surprise me. On average, I sell about 10% of my books in the UK and another 5% in Australia.
The 10% ebook figure does surprise me. While that might apply for traditionally published books, the retail price of the ebook is so close to the price of the paperback that, like me, most will spend a little more for something tangible. With the Amazon or Alibris discount, print is often cheaper than the e-book on a given day. But as of 31 January 2020: The Bookseller estimates global ebook sales to be 19% of total book sales by revenue, and 36% by unit sales (number of books sold). An analysis of the top 25 e-books for the month of January 2020—which “scrapes” Kindle top 100 sales positions—16 are either indie-authored, or published by Amazon or Pottermore (JK Rowling’s own publishing house), while the other nine are from traditional houses Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, and Hachette. Those indie-authored books are going to be missing from many of the analyses focused only on traditional publishers.
But as a reasonably successful indie with successful traditionally published friends, I do want to add the caveat that to succeed as an indie requires a WHOLE LOT more work than if you have the partnership of a traditional publisher to get your book into the hands of readers. Indies are running a business on top of striving to be a great writer.
Useful and interesting, Rachelle. I tweeted it, with credit to y’all.
Wow! I find this so interesting. Thank you for sharing, Rachelle.
Thanks for sharing! That is a very interesting statistic. Even though people everywhere are now saying that we are losing our reading skills, the data says that all is not lost yet!
Mention the map of India perfectly and know about before doing it. Jammu and Kashmir also belong to India