Do you know which book written by an author from your country is the most favorite by readers around the world?

The team from WordFinderX analyzed user ratings on Goodreads to identify the highest-rated book in each country written by a local author. The analysis is accompanied by a series of infographics created by Neomam Studios.

The team collected Goodreads author and book lists for each country, then isolated the top-rated books for each location based on the average rating metric.

Only the books with 500 ratings or more were counted.

Key findings

▸ The highest-rated book in the world is Witnessing Life in the DPRK by a Czech author Nina Špitálníková, with an average rating of 4.79.

▸ The highest-rated North American book is U.S. writer Brandon Sanderson’s Words of Radiance (4.76).

▸ Australia’s top book is Jess Hill’s See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Violence, with the average rating at 4.68.

▸ Celebrated Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions is the highest-rated book in Africa with a score of 4.52.

The world map is shown above (click on the image to open it in the full resolution). The infographics for each region are shown below.

Make sure to visit the original post for detailed methodology and the complete interactive chart.

WordFinderX is an online tool for the fans of word puzzles and crosswords. It’s “the perfect helper, created to guide word game enthusiasts along their journey toward learning and having fun.”

The highest-rated books from every country

North America

The highest-rated book from a North American author is Words of Radiance, the second part of The Stormlight Archive series by a US sci-fi and fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson. The average rating on Goodreads is 4.76.

South America

The highest-rated book in South America is Toda Mafalda, a collection of comics by the beloved Argentinian cartoonist Quino. The average rating on Goodreads is 4.77.

Europe

The highest-rated book in Europe – and the best worldwide – is Svědectví o životě v KLDR (Witnessing Life in the DPRK). It’s a third book by a Czech author Nina Špitálníková that is based on interviews with refugees from North Korea. The average rating on Goodreads is 4.79.

Africa

Two titles top the list of the highest-rated books written by African authors. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions was written by a Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The second book, African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality, was written by a Senegalese author Cheikh Anta Diop. Both books have an average rating of 4.52 on Goodreads.

Middle East and Central Asia

The two highest-rated books in this region are Crooked Kingdom by an Israeli author Leigh Bardugo, and İnce Memed by Yaşar Kemal from Turkey. Both books received 4.61 rating on Goodreads.

Rest of Asia and Oceania

The highest rated book in this region is Arkitek Jalanan by a Malaysian street painter and writer, working in anonymity as “Teme Abdullah”. The average rating on Goodreads is 4.75.