A Survey of the Book Publishing in Islamic and Western Countries
By S. Arshad, New Age Islam
08 July 2026
Main Points
· The US publishes the highest number of books.
· China is second in book publication.
· Islamic countries lag behind in book publication.
· Afghanistan has emerged as the enemy of books.
· Pakistan is also a poor record of book publication.
A recent survey on the production of books across Western, Asian and Islamic countries has put forth some important facts and insight into the habit of book reading or the lack of interest in books. It also reveals the impact of wars and strides on the interest of books in different linguistic and religious communities, thereby hindering the intellectual growth and spread of knowledge in crisis-ridden and war-torn countries.
It was also observed that in many Muslim majority countries, the data of book production is not collected regularly because unlike Western countries, in these countries book publishing is not an organised industry. Therefore, a clear picture of the publication of books in those countries cannot be had. However, from the data available on different platforms, some important inferences can be made on the reading habits and importance of books in western and Islamic countries.
Firstly, we take a look at the scale of publication of books in some scientifically and culturally developed nations such as the US, the UK, China, Russia and Japan. In the US, a country with a population of about 35 crores, 339000 book titles were published in 2015 and the number rose to 475000 in 2025. In the UK, a country with a population of 7 crores, 188000 books were published in 2018 and the number rose to 2 lakhs (200,000) in 2025. China, with a population of 140 crores, 470,000 books were published in 2019 and the number seems to be consistent with about 4 to 5 lakh books being published annually. However, Russia with a population of 14 crores, showed a small decline in the publication of books since 2024 obviously thanks to the war with Ukraine. A total of 117171 books were published in Russia in 2019 but only 100,400 titles were published in 2025, a decline of around 2 per cent. In Japan, a country with a population of 12 crores, 139000 books were published in 2017 and the number remained consistent through 2025 with 139,078 books in 2025.
While analysing the number of books published in these countries, one should keep the fact in mind that these countries, except Russia have been politically and financially stable. The US is involved in wars but fights wars in foreign lands, so the war does not impact the social and cultural life of its citizens much. But when we look at the scale of publication of books in some representative Muslim majority countries, we find that book publishing is not a developed and organised industry in these countries due to various cultural, national and geopolitical factors.
For example, Iran with a population of 9 crores, published 102691 books in 2018 and 102000 in 2025, a slight decline of 691 books perhaps due to the war. But considering the scale of war where it suffered heavy blows by the US and Israel, it reflects the resilience of the people of Iran and their unflinching passion for books of the Iranian people. Turkey, a country with a population of 8 crore published 75667 books in 2018 and the number rose to 100,000 in 2025. It should be noted that Turkey is in top 5 countries globally in book production. Another major Muslim majority country Indonesia with a population of 28 crores, consistently publishes 135,000 books annually thanks to political and cultural stability. Malaysia, with a population of 3.63 crore published 15354 book titles in 2015 but the number rose to 23000 in 2025. It shows that the people of Malaysia, particularly the youth there has shown greater interest in the study of books. When we turn towards Pakistan, a country with a Muslim population of 22 crores, we find conflicting data on the publication of books in the country because of the vastly unorganised nature of book publishing there. According to official data, only 2943 books were published in 2017 but the number declined to 2500 in 2025. However, according to the Dawn News, 25000 books were published in Pakistan in 2022 and according to a report by the Voice of America, 45000 books were published in Pakistan in 2010. If these reports are to believed, we may conclude that there was a sharp decline in the publication of books in the country in the last ten to fifteen years. The reason for this decline cannot be far to seek. The political instability, bankruptcy of the country's economy, poverty, price rise and rising unemployment have hit the book publishing industry hard and people cannot afford to have the luxury of books which are also costly.
The status of book publishing in the Central Asian Muslim majority countries is more disappointing. Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan with population of one crore to 3 crores do not generally have official data on number of books published because of the poor reading habits or lack of interests in books of the people. For example, Kazakhstan does not have data on books since 1996 in which year only 1226 books were published whereas Egypt with a population of 1.2 crore published 12000 books in 2010 (before Arab civil war) and 25000 books in 2025. Similarly, Tajikistan with a population of one crore published only 132 books in 1996 and 108 books in 2025, reflecting a sharp decline in interest in book reading in the region. Why was there such a sharp decline in book publication in Tajikistan is a subject of research? Kyrgyzstan, another Central Asian Muslim majority country with a population of only 74 lakhs, published 1455 books in 2018 but published only 800 to 1000 books in 2025, an about 50 percent decrease though there was not a considerable political or financial instability in the country in these years. Turkmenistan with a population of 77 lakh published 450 books in 1994 but published only 400 books in 2025, a 10 % decrease in 30 years. Uzbekistan, a country with a population equal to that of Malaysia (3.77 crore) published only 1003 books in 1996 but number rose to 11000 in 2025. Though the data shows a rise in interest in books in the new generation of Uzbekistan, it is still lower than that of Malaysia which published 23000 books. However, this scenario is encouraging and shows a positive change in this Central Asian country.
The most pathetic state of books is in Afghanistan. With a population of 4.5 crore, Afghanistan published 2795 books in 1990 before the ascent of Taliban but published only 100 books in 2025. Afghan Taliban are in power in Afghanistan since 2021. They have banned not only higher education of women but have also banned the publication of 700 books and 18 subjects. They have banned 310 books by Iranian writers. Most unfortunately, they have banned dozens of books by women as they have said that men should not read books written by women. Since half of the population of Afghanistan has been pushed behind purdah and barred from studying in schools, colleges and universities, the book publishing industry has also virtually collapsed. This apathy against books, particularly with books on science and arts will drag the Afghan society to further educational, scientific and intellectual backwardness that will collectively push Afghanistan further towards poverty and unemployment.
Some countries like Syria that were ravaged by civil war and the aggression of the US-led NATO forces have also showed a sharp decline in book publishing due to the economic and political devastation. Libya, with a population of 71 lakhs had published only 26 books in 1994 but published 1008 books in 2010, just before the Arab civil war and the subsequent aggression of the US-led NATO. The society and government of Libya has since been in complete disarray and so there is no official data available for books in the country. Syria, another war-torn country published 1138 books in 2004 but the data for books is not available for the previous years.
This study reveals that books are a mirror of the social, cultural and academic growth and development of a nation. Political stability and economic prosperity create a conducive environment for the spread of knowledge and intellectual growth of a nation. War and inner strife badly affect the academic and scientific development of a country or countries involved in a conflict. The educational system and the book publishing industry in the Middle East is in a bad condition due to wars and civil war. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, book publishing industry is in a mess due to the chaos, anarchy and political instability. The Central Asian Muslim majority countries lack interest in books. This has resulted in their scientific backwardness. Thus the survey of publication of books across the world the reveals the secret of the progress of the western and Asian nations and of the backwardness of the Muslim countries.
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S. Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://newageislam.com/books-documents/book-publishing-survey-islamic-western-countries/d/140710
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