International Book Markets 2025: Price increases, non-fiction declines, and BookTok-inspired genre fiction uplifts contribute to mixed interim results

NielsenIQ BookData and GfK Entertainment have released their international data for the first eight months of 2025 at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The findings paint a mixed picture: 11 out of 19 territories analyzed reported revenue growth, often accompanied by significant price increases. Crime fiction performed particularly well, while non-fiction sales declined in many territories.

The international book markets are navigating a transitional period, with subdued non-fiction sales, but strong performances in fiction genres such as crime and thriller, science-fiction and fantasy. As the representative data from January to August 2025 show, 11 of the 19 territories surveyed reported revenue growth compared to the same period last year. India (+28.6%), Brazil (+10.8%), Colombia (+9.6%), and Portugal (+8.4%) reported particularly strong increases.

France and the United Kingdom, the largest markets in the report with sales of 186 million and 115 million units respectively, ended the first eight months of 2025 with slight revenue declines of -0.8% and -0.4%. The Netherlands (-0.7%), Poland (-1.3%), German-speaking Switzerland (-0.9%), and Italy (-2.6%) also recorded downturns. The biggest fall occurred in French-speaking Switzerland, the Romandy region (-4.4%).

You will receive the whole report about the international book markets 2025 by completing the form below.