JEDDAH, 3 August 2004 — Saudi Arabia spends about SR1 billion annually on books, according to Dr. Abdul Kareem Al-Zaid, deputy supervisor of King Abdul Aziz Public Library.
“The amount includes SR500 million spent on imported books,” he added.
As many as 39,402 titles with 39 million copies have been published in the Kingdom over the past 10 years, he said. “There are 219 books for every 1,000 citizens in the Kingdom against 513 books in the developed countries and 29 books in Arab countries,” he pointed out.
Zaid said correct information on sales of periodicals and newspapers was not available. However, he said some two million copies of daily newspapers are printed and distributed in the Kingdom.
“This means there are 85 copies of newspapers for every 1,000 citizens in Saudi Arabia against 286 copies in advanced countries and 44 copies in Arab countries,” Al-Watan daily quoted Al-Zaid as saying.
He said there are more than 70,000 titles at King Fahd National Library, covering all areas of information.
