The Truth About European Books

Photo: Flickr

Now Europe is a pretty big place and as of 2018, some 50 countries are considered part of that region.  However, it appears that only particular member states of the EU that continue to be the most productive countries on the book publishing map and they include: Russia, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and of Course the United Kingdom.  However, for the purpose of this article we will delete the UK and treat them as a separate entity, given their decision to leave the European Union.

Russia

France

Spain

Germany

Italy

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According to Worldometers and UNESCO (United Nations Educational Science and Cultural Organization), each year the world produces 2,412,371 and counting.  This is a live figure, so even in the matter of minutes as I am write this article, it has increased to 2,412,379.  I'll update it again, at the end of this article if you are curious.

The numbers of titles for the above relevant countries produced books at rate other countries can only dream of.  Russia produced 123,336 in 2008; France produced a total of 67,278; while Spain managed 86,300 in 2008; Germany a staggering 93, 124 for 2009 and Italy closed 2005 with 59,743 books.  These figures are just some of the major book producers in the world.  Remember, these EU statistics are not 2018 figures, but are the most up to day figures presently available.  Either way, the numbers of books being produced, do not appear to be waning.

It goes without saying that the biggest producers and consumers of books still goes to China - 328,387 books in total for the 2010 period. A similar figure was documented for the United States - new titles and editions totalled 328,259,  in the same year.

(The live book total is now - 2,412,497)

Photo: Flickr

Whether books are produced in hard copy or soft, physical or digital - the production of books is increasing at a phenomenal rate.  Just adding the above sets of figures for five of the stated European countries - that's 429,781 books alone, which out produces both China and the United States by more than 100,000 books. 

Europe looks set to boom and there are forty-five remaining countries in that region, I have not documented.  Go figure!