Spain's publishing industry is the third largest in Europe after the UK and Germany. It generated over £2.5 billion in revenue in 2007, an increase of 3.6% over the previous year.
The number of books sold in 2007 totalled 251 million, almost 10% more than in 2006, and the average price per copy was £9.8. The total number of titles published rose to 70,520, with 53.9% of them new releases or first editions and 46.1% reissues or reprints. The average print run per title was 5,070 copies, an increase of 165 copies per title.
There has been a rise in the publication of pocket books. A total of 6,392 titles and 37,333,794 copies were published in 2007, bringing in £190 million in revenue. Books in pocket format accounted for 10.4% of all titles published and their average price was £6.40 .
3,500 publishing houses are responsible for 14,600 direct jobs. Many employed at one of the six large groups, which account for 63,5% 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 20.2% 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 £440.5 million exported in 2007 alone- £290.73 million account for the book exports and £149.77 million for printing services. The United Kingdom was the third destination for Spanish books.
In terms of translations, around 28% 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 often translated into French, German or Italian, before being translated into English. Reports on the Spanish Publishing Sector (2007) by the Spanish Publishers' Association (FGEE)