Amy Watson
Research expert covering news and publishing
Book market in Sweden - statistics & facts
The Swedish book industry is changing. Just five years ago, sales from physical bookstores accounted for the lion’s share of publishers’ revenue, but the figure fell below 400 million Swedish kronor in 2020 and has been slow to recover since then, whilst digital outlets continue to prosper. Swedish book publisher income is now comprised mostly of revenue from digital resellers and internet bookstores. Revenue derived from digital resellers grew by more than threefold in five years and surpassed 700 million SEK for the first time in 2022. But which book formats do Swedes read most?
The future of the Swedish book industry will see revenues from digital resale and online stores continue to rise. However, although Swedish book publishers’ revenue streams are predominantly digital, this revenue ultimately comes from physical books sold through online channels. Print books will, like in other markets around the world, likely remain popular, with e-books and audiobooks offering alternatives to print, but not replacing it.
Swedes’ preferred book formats
Although the number of new e-book releases quadrupled in the last decade, Swedes still prefer to read printed books. According to a survey on daily media usage in Sweden, close to 50 percent of respondents read physical books each day, whereas data on online formats were significantly less popular, with only a fraction of Swedes listening to audiobooks or reading e-books on a regular basis. Swedes are not alone in their preference for print – the same trend can be seen in Norway. The share of Norwegians reading e-books remains under 20 percent, according to an annual survey. Meanwhile, print book readership in Norway was overall higher.Sweden’s leading book publisher
The Swedish book market is dominated by Albert Bonnier AB. Bonnier Books, the company’s book segment*, had a turnover over seven billion kronor in the most recent fiscal year. Bonnier Carlsen, also part of the Bonnier Group, is the leading publisher of children’s and youth books, releasing almost 240 titles in 2022, far outranking Rabén & Sjögren and Tukan. Around two thousand children’s books are published each year, meaning that Carlsen’s number of titles account for more than ten percent of the annual total.The future of the Swedish book industry will see revenues from digital resale and online stores continue to rise. However, although Swedish book publishers’ revenue streams are predominantly digital, this revenue ultimately comes from physical books sold through online channels. Print books will, like in other markets around the world, likely remain popular, with e-books and audiobooks offering alternatives to print, but not replacing it.
