Ahead of World Book Day being held on Saturday 23 April 2016 to coincide with the anniversary of the deaths of celebrated writers William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, Luxembourg's statistics portal STATEC has released figures related to publishing and literature.
In the Grand Duchy, over 200 companies are today engaged in an economic activity related to the publishing and sale of books, newspapers and periodicals (including digital), and occupy nearly 1,600 employees. Two thirds of these companies have a commercial activity, yet hire only 46% of employees. Compared to 2010, employment in commerce increased by 42 members of staff, whilst in book, newspaper and magazine publishing it decreased by 187 units.
These figures do not include 'sales from a distance' which comprises, amongst others, the sale of books by means of the Internet. Book sales cannot be isolated from other sales and this topic is covered by statistical secrecy because it holds an important player, STATEC reported.
In 2015, the imports of books, brochures and printed media such as newspapers and periodicals, on paper amounted to €57 million, against €69 million in 2010, indicating a 17% decline. STATEC attributed this reduction in part to growing demand for digital books. In terms of the balance of payments, imports ande exports are not disaggregated by product type such as multimedia or webcontent, meaning that there are no statistics on electronic services in the field of reading.
In 2013, these companies exude a gross added value of €84.8 million, against €93.4 in 2010, representing 0.2% of the total economy.
According to the general consumer price index, the average price of books increased by 5% from 2010. The price of newspapers and magazines increased by 17.8%, faster than the overall evolution of consumer prices (+9.2%) over the last five years.
Graph by STATEC
