Reading around the world, according to Scribd (infographic)

by Ola Kowalczyk Published: Apr 26, 2014 / 12:30

Reading around the world according to Scribd - infographic

Scribd is a popular digital library offering a subscription-based access to over 300,000 titles from major publishers.

With over 80 million monthly users from all over the world, the site is a valuable source of information about reading habits, and how they differ from country to country.

I wish there were more countries and more facts included in the chart, but what is here is already interesting. I’ve checked the titles from the infographic, and they all are available via subscription ($8.99 per month). Regular, heavy readers are analyzed, not occasional Scribd users.

Some big bestsellers, like Inferno by Dan Brown, or Harry Potter series, are not available on Scribd, so the section highlighting popular books by country may be a little surprising. Compare Sh*t my Dad Says (US) to Slaughterhouse-Five (Russia) to The Story of Sushi (UK).

Helping to increase reading speed is the new baby of the digital publishing industry. New speed-reading apps flow into the market one by one – and it looks like Americans need them most. On the list of reading speed by country, the United States is #14, after Germany, Sweden, or Malaysia.

Comparing this data with the “Reading around the world” infographic created by RBTH, can lead to a conclusion that most avid readers in the world live in Asia: Malaysia, India, China, and Thailand.

Check out more posts on international topics:

Via The Digital Reader.