One bright side of the pandemic era was a lift in reading habits. Many people who had broken the routine found solace in books, and the habit stuck long after lockdowns eased. Across the board, regular readers stayed engaged, with a notable share continuing to read many hours each week.
a) In 2021, the publishing sector grew by 5.6 percent, reaching 2,576.70 million euros. This marked the strongest annual revenue rise seen in this century. The annual Reading Habits and Book Buying Barometer, compiled by the Federation of Publishers Associations, tracks these figures and is presented in Madrid. It shows that even during the early pandemic year, readers embraced a renewed interest in books. The latest data, while positive overall, also reflects a shift in bookstore sentiment from optimism to cautious outlooks in 2022. This signal underscores a sustained reinvention of reading habits among the public and a continued appetite for books across categories, according to FGEE observations and industry commentary.
Sales of physical copies rose to 174.19 million, up 5.9 percent from 2020. Digital sales also climbed, with 13.49 million downloads representing a 1.7 percent gain. Every major sub-sector posted gains, except textbooks. Children and youth titles led the way, reaching 432.24 million euros, up 17.8 percent. Adult fiction climbed 8.2 percent to 548.90 million euros, while non-fiction advanced by 7.7 percent, totaling 770.92 million euros. The comics and graphic novels segment expanded by 6.7 percent compared with 2020. These shifts highlight a broad-based recovery and a resilient consumer interest in varied formats and genres.
Digital printing hardly ever grows
Digital books did not replace traditional newspapers or entirely fade away during the crisis. Instead, they established a stable niche within the publishing ecosystem. In 2021, digital printing accounted for 5.2 percent of total turnover, reaching 134.79 million euros, marking a 6.8 percent year-over-year rise. The format also saw a small but positive increase in published titles, with around 186,887 new releases, up 1.2 percent. Non-fiction remains the dominant segment here, accounting for roughly 60 percent of turnover, a growth driver for children’s and youth titles that rose by 17.8 percent.
When looking at distribution channels, booksellers hold the leading position, with turnover estimated near 900 million euros—about 35.2 percent of the total and 8.2 percent higher than the previous year. Bookstore chains contribute 18.6 percent of sales, and combined, retail outlets account for roughly 53.8 percent of total turnover. Internet sales reached 51 million euros, a modest year-over-year rise of ten million but not as dramatic as during the earlier pandemic months, showing a more tempered growth pattern across e-commerce channels.