From New York to Cairo, hundreds of millions of copies sold in 2025 put the “death of paper” myth to rest

Ever since the internet took hold and smartphones became ubiquitous, predictions of the demise of printed books and newspapers have been made again and again, until paper seemed destined to become a relic of the past. Reality, however, tells a different story: the presses are still rolling, bookshops are still filling with customers, book fairs are drawing millions, and publishers are still turning out copies by the million.

None of this means publishing has escaped the digital upheaval, or that print journalism has recovered its old clout. But it does raise an awkward question for the doomsayers: how can the printed book be dead when the world’s biggest markets are still selling hundreds of millions of copies a year?

A prophecy of doom that never arrived

The prophecy took shape in the 1990s, as the internet spread, and gained momentum with the arrival of smart devices and e-books. The digital revolution, however, did not wipe out print reading. It reshaped it, folding the printed page into a wider landscape of print, digital and audio formats.

The screen ended paper’s monopoly on information, but it never managed to replace the physical experience of a book, or to destroy the market for one. Some corners of traditional publishing have shrunk, but the sales figures tell a story of resilience.

Numbers that defy the prophecy

The 2025 data are hard to argue with. Americans bought roughly 762.4 million print books. French publishers sold 419.6 million copies. Germany’s book market was worth 9.62 billion euro. And the Cairo International Book Fair logged some 5.55 million visits.

These are not like-for-like measures: some count units, others revenue or footfall. But together they point in one direction. Whatever is happening to the printed book, it is not disappearing.

United States: print sells in the hundreds of millions

US print sales reached about 762.4 million units in 2025, up a modest 0.3% on the year before, according to Circana BookScan.

Romance was a standout, with sales approaching 44 million copies. The genre owes much of its momentum to younger readers, many of them steered into bookshops by social media, and above all by BookTok.

The market is not back at its peak. But American readers have clearly not walked away from print, even as digital alternatives multiply.

France: a reading culture under pressure

French publishers sold some 419.6 million books in 2025, bringing in close to 2.88 billion euro. Unit sales slipped from 2024, but the printed book remains a pillar of the country’s economy and culture.

France’s bookshops are more than shops. They host authors, launch new titles and serve as hubs of cultural life, keeping books woven into the country’s intellectual and social fabric despite mounting pressure on publishers and distributors.

Germany: old-school bookshops go online

Germany’s book market generated around 9.62 billion euro in 2025, despite a 2.7% decline. The country counts roughly 4,400 physical bookshops and nearly 3,000 publishers.

Rather than retreating in the face of e-commerce, German booksellers embraced it as another way to sell and distribute. Revenue from young readers and young adults grew, a sign the industry is still recruiting new generations.

Britain: print still rules

Britons bought about 190.6 million print books in 2025, worth 1.81 billion euro, according to NielsenIQ BookData.

Print remains dominant despite the rise of e-books and audiobooks. Newspapers are another story: circulation and advertising continue to fall as much of the readers move online.

The distinction matters. Books live on a longer cycle of reading and buying; newspapers trade on speed and constant updates, the very ground where digital media are strongest.

The Arab world: crowds in the aisles

Arab book fairs offer further proof of the public’s attachment to print. The 2025 Cairo International Book Fair drew some 5.55 million visits, with 1,345 publishers from 80 countries.

In the UAE, the Sharjah International Book Fair welcomed about 1.4 million visitors and 2,350 publishers and exhibitors from 118 countries.

Attendance is not the same as sales. But these events show that books can still turn reading into a social and cultural occasion, bringing together authors, publishers, translators and readers, and driving the trade in translation and distribution rights.

Newspapers are not books: why their fates should not be confused

One of the most common errors in the debate is to lump books and newspapers together. A book has a longer lifespan and can stay in circulation for decades; a daily paper is built around breaking news and constant updates.

That is why print journalism is under far heavier strain, as advertising and subscriptions migrate online. Books still have buyers who read, collect and study them, and their trajectory is fundamentally different.

Friend or foe?

The screen and the book are no longer locked in a zero-sum battle. Digital platforms have become powerful tools for discovering and marketing books, with BookTok pushing older novels back onto bestseller lists.

E-books and audiobooks, meanwhile, have expanded readers’ choices without pulling them away from print. In some cases, technology is driving demand for paper rather than killing it.

What gives paper its staying power?

Print’s survival is not just about nostalgia for the smell and feel of the page. It is about the experience itself: a physical relationship with the text, a book you can keep, revisit and collect. Art books, illustrated volumes and luxury editions remain inseparable from the quality of their design and printing.

 Publishers have also adapted, adopting print-on-demand to match output to demand and cut storage costs, a lifeline for many in a shifting market.

Presses, not museum pieces

Despite the digital transformation, the printing industry has not stood still. Modern presses and print-on-demand have given publishers new flexibility, especially for niche titles.

The headwinds are real: rising costs for paper, energy and shipping, plus fierce commercial competition. But continued production shows printing is not a dying craft. It is an industry adapting to new conditions.

Not a victory, but not a burial either

From the US to Europe to the Arab world, the evidence shows the printed book still commands a broad market, even where sales and revenue are slipping. Survival is not the same as prosperity, and a decline is not the same as extinction.

The figures also demand clearer thinking: books are not newspapers, and crowds at book fairs are not the same as copies sold. Each sector faces its own challenges and runs on its own economic model.

No death certificate required

Perhaps the mistake was never in predicting that technology would shake up publishing, but in assuming every new medium must destroy the one before it. The book has lost its monopoly on the written word, not its hold on readers or its cultural and commercial weight.

From New York to Paris, Berlin and London, from Cairo to Sharjah, bookshops still open their doors, publishers still bet on new titles, and presses still print books that find their readers.

Paper is no longer the only gateway to knowledge. But it is far from extinct. The more accurate picture is this: the screen is advancing, and paper is finding its place all over again.