Spain's publishing industry is the third largest in Europe after the UK and Germany. It generated over £2.07 billion in revenue in 2006, an increase of 2.8% over the previous year.

The number of books sold in 2006 totalled 228.22 million, and the average price per copy was 9.1 pounds. The total number of titles published rose to 68,930, with 51.3% of them new releases or first editions and 48.7% reissues or reprints. The average print run per title was 4,905 copies, an increase of 286 copies per title.

There has been a notable rise in the sale of pocket books. A total of 5,232 titles and 38,212,871 copies were published in 2006, bringing in £134 million in revenue, up 25% compared to the previous year. Books in pocket format accounted for 7.6% of all titles published and their average price was £4.32 .

3,500 publishing houses are responsible for 14,600 direct jobs. Many employed at one of the six large groups, which account for 62,9% of the total industry turnover: Planeta, Circulo-Plaza, Anaya, Santillana, Océano and SM. A group of twelve medium size firms represent 16.3% of the market, while the other 20.8% is in the hands of a large number of SME’s.

Most publishers are located in Madrid and Barcelona while the industry now boasts a number of high profile events. These include the annual international trade show LIBER, a range of literary prizes, “Día del libro” on 23rd April and the Open Air Madrid Book Fair.

As for exports, publishing is one of the net contributors to the trade balance, with a total of £325 million exported in 2006 alone- £252 million account for the book exports and £73 million for printing services. The United Kingdom was the third destination for Spanish books, with £39 million.

In terms of translations, 25% of all books published in Spain are translated titles, 12% from English. On the other hand, when it comes to translations from Spanish fiction titles into other languages, they are usually translated into French, German or Italian, before being translated into English.