Global book revenue up in 2023

A joint market report from Nielsen BookData and GfK Entertainment, analysing 16 countries, shows an increase in turnover for the majority of book markets in the first eight months of 2023.

The gains ranged from low-single figures in France (1.3%) and the UK (1.8%) to considerable increases in emerging book markets such as India (8.7%) and Mexico (10%). Australia (down 1.9%) and South Africa (down 0.2%) were among the four countries to register a revenue decline.

Despite the revenue growth in most countries, the number of books sold was only up in one quarter of markets surveyed, with emerging markets India (up 6.4% by volume) and Mexico (up 4.2% by volume) among the few where volume sales rose. Revenue growth was otherwise accounted for by the increase in average book prices, which grew in markets including the Belgian region of Flanders (8.7%), Brazil (6.1%) and the UK (5.7%).

The revenue from fiction titles grew in 10 of the 16 countries, while half of the countries surveyed reported double-digit revenue growth from travel books. Sales of comic books—particularly manga titles—have slowed; most notably, revenue from manga was down 10.9% in Spain and 9.1% in Italy.

Category: International news