Research Summary. From riveting romance novels to the latest theories in political science, the us. uu. the book industry plays an important role in education, entertainment and more. After extensive research, our data analysis team concluded:
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the us the book industry generated $25.93 billion in revenue in 2020
You are reading: How many books are sold annually
Including self-published and commercially published, more than 4 million new books were published in 2021.
Children’s fiction is the most popular book genre sold, with more than one billion books sold in 2020.
in usa In the US, approximately 1,700 independent booksellers operate 4,100 stores
us total uu. Book sales reached 825.7 million units in 2021 across all print sales, an 8.9% increase from 2020.
For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways: Print vs. eBook | Audiobook | Textbook | Trends
U.S. general book industry statistics
despite a substantial increase in the number of books published, the number of books sold in the us. uu. remains stagnant. without a doubt, the book industry struggles to compete with other media. here are the facts:
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in 2020, 1.7 million new books were self-published in the us. u.
That’s an increase of 264% over the last five years and represents 43% of all new books published.
Religious books and bibles are the most popular adult genre, with 21.2 million sold.
while the second most popular is general adult fiction, which sold 20.4 million units in 2019.
penguin random house is the largest book publisher in the us. US, with revenues of $3.3 billion (2019).
and this publisher is one of five other publishers known as the “big five.” “Big Five” publishers other than Penguin Random House include Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan.
as of 2019, usa. uu. the trade book publishing industry had $16.23 billion in net income.
a number that has been slowly increasing since 2013. For example, the net income of the trade book publishing industry increased by 0.4% between 2018 and 2019.
in the usa In the US, the best-selling book of 2020 was “The Promised Land” by former US President. uu. president barack obama.
the book sold 2.57 million copies in 2020, 1.27 million copies more than the next runner up: stephenie meyer’s ‘midnight sun’.
As of 2021, there are 68,670 people employed in the book publishing industry and 44,240 writers.
and the number of people employed has increased slightly from 2016-2021, at a rate of 1.4%.
consumer book revenue grew 6% in 2020, while prek-12 revenue fell 12.3%.
It’s no surprise that 2020 was a time when consumers clamored for any form of entertainment while trapped inside. It’s also not surprising that schoolbook sales saw a massive decline, as students across the country spent a significant portion of their school year attending classes from home.
US book industry revenue change by category 2019-2020
print and e-book statistics
Despite the ever-increasing presence of technology, e-book sales continue to lag far behind those of print. Here are some ideas our research uncovered:
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ebooks only account for 9% of total book industry revenue.
Of the $26 billion in revenue last year, $22.6 billion came from print books, while only $2.04 billion came from e-books.
ebooks sold 191 million units in 2020.
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which was a strong 12.6% increase from 2019, likely due to the pandemic.
Print book sales reached 750.89 million units in 2020.
While print book sales did not increase as much as e-book sales, there was still a substantial 8.2% increase in units sold. that marks the largest increase in units sold since 2010.
audiobook statistics
Audiobooks have also grown immensely in popularity since their inception in 1932. In fact, despite accounting for only 10% of book sales, audiobooks are the fastest growing type of book in the industry. according to our research:
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71,000 audiobooks were published in 2020.
That’s a 39% increase from 2019, one of the largest increases in growth for the US book industry. uu.
U.S. audiobook revenue hit $1.3 billion in 2020.
This is a 12% increase from the previous year and marks the ninth consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth.
As of 2021, audible is the most popular audiobook website.
and reached sales of $940 million, with a growth rate of 24.5%. audible also has over 200,000 audiobooks available.
textbook statistics
From public schools to college students, textbooks are an important aspect of American education. however, everyone is well aware of price inflation within this subsection of the book industry. this is what we found:
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In 2019, the textbook publishing industry had $8.38 billion in revenue.
This was actually an 8% decrease from the prior year, which saw total revenue of $9.13 billion. in fact, revenue from the textbook publishing industry has been in steady decline since 2015, when revenue hit $11.96 billion.
In the United States, the average textbook costs $84.
This, while a decrease from $110 in 2015, still means the average college student spends $1,240.00 on textbooks over 4 years.
grades 4-6 have the highest use of textbooks in the classroom, over 80%.
And this seems to affect test scores, as fourth graders who read the textbook every day instead of once a month scored 6% higher on tests.
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us book industry trends and predictions
So far, we’ve seen relatively steady growth within the book industry, especially in e-books and audiobooks. however, is the book industry growing or has it declined in some areas? this is what we found:
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in 2021, usa. uu. the publishing industry only had a CAGR of 1%.
Although this is not a direct decrease, it is still very low. however, even a 1% CAGR is expected to increase industry revenue by $18.69 billion between 2021 and 2025.
on the other hand, the digital publishing market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% between 2021 and 2028.
Probably due to the covid-19 pandemic, the digital publishing market is expected to grow much faster than the industry as a whole. in theory, it should grow from $24.6 million in 2021 to $37.9 million in 2028.
eBook sales increased 12.6% between 2019 and 2020.
Overall, sales of e-books and audiobooks have grown at a much steeper rate than print sales. e-book sales alone grew 35% more than print sales.
barnes and noble sales decreased 22.3% in 2021.
the largest bookstore in the usa. USA, Barnes and Noble, has experienced a steady decline for several years. from 2020 to 2021, the company experienced a decrease in sales of $382.4 million.
size of the us book publishing market uu. 2012-2019
frequently asked questions about the American book industry
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How much is the US publishing industry worth?
the us book industry. uu. it is worth $25.93 billion. however, this number is not divided equally. ebooks and audiobooks only account for 9% and 10% of the market, respectively, while print books still dominate the market.
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Are books a dying industry?
No, books are not a dying industry. While the introduction of technology has led many to believe that the publishing industry is dying, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
At worst, book sales have only increased in value by 1.4%, but at best, print sales have grown by 8.2%, and sales of ebooks and audiobooks have seen growth of more than 12%.
In addition, more new books are being written than ever before, with 1.7 million self-published books in 2020, 264% more than five years earlier.
what is the growth rate of the book publishing industry?
It is estimated that the growth rate of the book publishing industry will be 2.2% between 2020 and 2021.
The growth rate of the book publishing industry is somewhat lower than that of other aspects of the publishing industry in general. The book publishing industry market size is currently expected to increase by 2.2% between 2020 and 2021.
How many books are sold in the United States each year?
approximately 900 million books are sold in the us each year. US 2020 set a record with 942 million units sold in the US. UU., Both in electronic books and in printed editions. That represents a 9% increase from 2019. If this pace continues, the United States will sell more than a billion books in 2021.
Amazon is becoming a monopoly in the publishing world?
yes, many experts believe that amazon is approaching de facto monopoly status in the publishing world. amazon controls up to 80% of all book distribution in the united states, and many they are concerned that the company has engaged in anti-competitive and even predatory practices that have left publishers “running to the bottom.”
In August 2020, representatives from the Authors Guild, the American Publishers Association, and the American Booksellers Association sent a letter to Congress expressing concern about the matter. there was no appreciable response.
conclusion
Contrary to popular belief, the book industry has experienced steady growth over the past five years and is expected to continue to grow. for example, print sales increased 8.2% in 2020, and new self-published books increased 264% in the last five years.
Ebooks and audiobooks have seen even stronger growth, with sales increasing by 12.6% and 12%, respectively. overall, digital markets are seeing the most growth, despite ebooks and audiobooks combined only accounting for 19% of the market. however, this may change as the digital publishing market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% between 2021 and 2028.
In conclusion, the book industry is far from being on its deathbed and, in fact, is growing steadily every year.
references
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statesman. “to us. book industry – statistical data.” accessed August 31, 2021.
berrett-koehler publishing house. “The 10 Terrible Truths About Book Publishing”. accessed August 31, 2021.
proactive writer. “which genre of books is the most popular in 2021?” accessed August 31, 2021.
publisher’s weekly. “Ranking America’s Largest Publishers”. accessed August 31, 2021.
ibisworld. “Book Publishing in the United States: Employment Statistics 2005-2027”. accessed August 31, 2021.
cnbc. “Physical books still outsell e-books, and here’s why.” accessed August 31, 2021.
editorial perspectives. “Apa cites audiobook revenue growth of 12 percent in 2020 in the US”. accessed September 1, 2021.
good electronic reader. “Audiobook Trends and Statistics for 2020”. accessed September 1, 2021.
education data. “average cost of college textbooks”. accessed September 1, 2021.
association of academic authors. “Use of textbooks in the United States: the case of the U.S. history.” Retrieved 1 September 2021.
market observation. “Market Share Release, Growth 2021, Global Industry Size, 1% CAGR, Future Trends, Key Growth Drivers, Demand, Sales & Revenue, Manufacturing Players & Forecast 2025”. accessed September 1, 2021.
knowledge partners. “Digital publishing market growth forecast ($37.94 billion by 2028) at 6.4% cagr during 2021 to 2028 covid impact and global analysis by theinsightpartners.com”. accessed September 1, 2021.
commercial cable. “Barnes Noble Education Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results”. accessed September 1, 2021.
editors weekly. “a year for books (record) in edition”. accessed 5 January 2022.
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