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Countries by Number of Books Published

Name the countries which publish the greatest number of new books and new editions each year.
According to Wikipedia
Quiz by relessness
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Last updated: March 27, 2023
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First submittedNovember 1, 2012
Times taken54,665
Average score85.0%
Rating4.95
5:00
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#
Country
275,232
United States
208,418
China
186,000
United Kingdom
139,078
Japan
135,081
Indonesia
125,948
Italy
115,171
Russia
#
Country
106,799
France
102,691
Iran
90,000
India
88,975
Turkey
83,622
Spain
79,916
Germany
63,476
South Korea
#
Country
46,829
Brazil
28,084
Taiwan
24,589
Vietnam
23,416
Ukraine
23,000
Egypt
21,130
Poland
+11
Level 74
Nov 2, 2012
Cool quiz!
+2
Level 59
Dec 15, 2017
Easy. Completed in 65 seconds
+63
Level 44
May 4, 2020
Okay
+8
Level 92
Mar 8, 2018
Very interesting, was somewhat surprised by Vietnam, didn't expect them to be as high.
+13
Level 75
Apr 11, 2018
Only one I missed, but that's because I thought I'd already typed it. I hate it when I take one quiz, and then think I've already typed those answers on the next one I take.
+4
Level 66
Jul 24, 2018
Even I forgot my native country?!
+2
Level 63
Apr 8, 2020
Same... I'm also surprised by Poland.
+10
Level 75
Apr 24, 2023
Vietnam and Poland - large populations with unique languages? This may explain the absence of countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Australia, etc.
+2
Level 32
Apr 11, 2018
Damn...I missed indonesia because I spelt it worng. :/ Other then that it was easy.
+25
Level 66
Dec 19, 2019
Undarstandubl.
+3
Level 79
Jan 5, 2023
than*
+3
Level 67
Apr 11, 2018
Vietnam was a Hail Mary. 100%, thank you very much!
+2
Level 55
Apr 11, 2018
Intriguing subject for sure.
+8
Level 56
Apr 11, 2018
Per capita would be even more interesting.
+6
Level 28
Apr 11, 2018
Then Iceland would be the highest.
+2
Level 57
Apr 12, 2018
Hi,

Just put together one like that: "Countries by Number of Books Published per Capita".

+1
Level 57
Apr 12, 2018
Iceland might be somewhere on the top, but checked only countries publishing at least 5000 titles per year.
+3
Level 67
Aug 10, 2019
I would expect the Vatican to be somewhere on there then.
+7
Level 48
Apr 11, 2018
Kind of surprised none of the Nordic countries make it onto the list.
+3
Level 57
Apr 12, 2018
On per capita -list they do. Just added a new quiz: "Countries by Number of Books Published per Capita"...
+4
Level 81
Jan 26, 2020
Very few people read Nordic languages. The countries on this list probably publish for large portions of their language communities, and the list represents the most common prestige languages.
+4
Level 28
Apr 11, 2018
I started guessing countries with big populations because it seems obvious to me that they would have more authors, but Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mexico, Ethiopia, and the Philippines were not on here and all have over a hundred million people. I ended up missing Iran and South Korea.
+4
Level 43
Apr 11, 2018
Brazil is on this quiz.
+4
Level 64
May 18, 2020
You need to also take into account education, wealth, number of languages in that particular country and whether their main language is spoken elsewhere in the world.

Most of the countries you mentioned have populations that are poorly educated and don't have the luxury to buy books and so there isn't a market.

The wealthier class are obviously more educated and much more likely to read books in English.

+1
Level 71
Mar 30, 2022
Yeah, I think most of the educated people in Bangladesh read books in English. And, at any rate, most people in Bangladesh are much more interested in their phones than in books. That being said, there is a pretty large annual book fair in Dhaka every year, which is pretty cool and goes to show that there is still a significant literary presence in the country!
+2
Level 75
Mar 31, 2023
Most people in every country are more interested in their phones than in books. Also - fun fact - you can read books on your phone, audially or visually.
+1
Level 64
Apr 11, 2018
100%!
+1
Level 23
Apr 11, 2018
Why is canada so low?
+5
Level 74
Oct 13, 2018
Population.
+10
Level 81
Jan 26, 2020
Canadians can buy books published in the US and other English and French language publishers.
+2
Level 59
Jan 31, 2022
Its actually pretty high, considering how low its population is. Its the benefit of English language
+1
Level 57
Apr 12, 2018
Thanks to this cool quiz idea from Relessness I also wanted to make something about this subject, and added a new quiz: "Countries by Number of Books Published per Capita"... Welcome to check it out!
+2
Level 46
Apr 15, 2018
I was surprised not to see Bangladesh, considering its large population and importance of literature, but then again most books published in Bengali are probably in West Bengal, because of Tagore , Ram Mohan Roy and others. But still this influence is still prevalent in Bangladesh also.
+1
Level 64
Apr 26, 2018
Take your literature knowledge, and see if you can ace the Five Most Literate Countries by Continent Quiz
+1
Level 62
Apr 1, 2020
Pakistan and Bangladesh missing.. India's number quite low too.
+4
Level 64
May 18, 2020
Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have very low literacy rates, with the exception of the young in Bangladesh.

Islamic countries generally score low on anything when it comes to education.

+2
Level 59
Apr 27, 2020
Taiwan?
+1
Level 40
Mar 1, 2021
got taiwan but missed iran and turkey

Sad noises

+1
Level 45
Nov 24, 2021
i missed taiwan and spain
+2
Level 25
Feb 8, 2022
missed taiwan :((((
+1
Level 38
Sep 19, 2022
Only two Spanish speaking countries featured at the list, and the first one, Spain, in the 13th position, behind South Korea. That's a shame. Brazil much worse, and Mexico does not appear. Really the lack of culture in the Latino world is something to be ashamed of.
+12
Level 74
Mar 28, 2023
Not knowing that Brazil's official language is Portuguese, not Spanish, is also something to be ashamed of.
+2
Level 81
Mar 28, 2023
I was surprised not to see Mexico on the list. A lot of Spanish-language cultural products are exported from Mexico throughout Latin America and the US, like TV shows, art, music, sports, and movies. Surprised literature isn't included. I wonder if this list includes e-books and periodicals.
+1
Level 31
Oct 9, 2022
Very nice quiz. Almost missed Taiwan but still finished with 45 seconds :0
+2
Level 64
Mar 21, 2023
This quiz needs to be checked. The wikipedia page - supposedly the source - does not match the correct answers. A reliable source, such as the ISBN database, could be used.
+1
Level ∞
Mar 27, 2023
Updated now. I doubt there is a better source, but if so feel free to link it.
+1
Level 65
Mar 28, 2023
It's odd the way you police others on updating and question their sources on the quizzes they have bothered to take time to create and yet you don't bother to contribute any yourself! Some chutzpah that!
+1
Level 68
Mar 28, 2023
The order of the answers is wrong. Vietnam should be placed between Taiwan and Ukraine.
+3
Level 77
Mar 28, 2023
Basically the answers are the Venn Diagram intersection between the "Highest Population Countries" and "Highest HDI Countries" quizzes.
+1
Level 67
Apr 24, 2023
Just missed Poland
+1
Level 36
Apr 25, 2023
I have no idea how I got South Korea