• In 2019, 3,078 titles were published, compared to 3,095 titles published in 2018.*
• In 2019, the average print run of books was 844. In 2018, by way of comparison, the average print run was 884 and in 2017, 953. The average print run in three years has fallen by almost 11%.
• In 2019, the dominating genre in the publishing market was fiction – 886 titles with the average print run of 660. In 2018, genre fiction dominated as well – 895 titles with the average print run of 638.
• In 2019, 833 non-fiction titles were published, with the average print run of 1,060 (2018 – 874 titles with the average print run of 1,187), and 690 children’s titles with the average print run of 1,294 (713 titles with the average print run of 1,275).
• Nine biggest publishers (by titles) in 2018: Ersen, Koolibri, Varrak, University of Tartu Press, Tänapäev, Sinisukk, Egmont Estonia, Pegasus, Hea Lugu.
• In 2019, 841 e-books were published. In 2018, this number was 1,928 titles and in 2017, 1,261 titles.
• The e-library ELLU is managed by the Tallinn Central Library and e-books can be borrowed by all Estonian citizens.
• The total turnover of the publishing sector was approximately 35 million euros. E-books turnover made up 3% of the overall publishing turnover in 2019.
• There is no fixed price for books.
• The retail price of books is set by the bookseller.
• The VAT rate on books and from 1 May 2020 on e-books stands at 9%.
• English, German and Swedish are the leading languages for titles in translation.
• Estonia has about thirty bookshops. Most of them belong to two bookshop chains: Rahva Raamat and Apollo.
• Major literary festivals – HeadRead in Tallinn (26-30 May, 2021) and Prima Vista in Tartu (21-26 September and 9-14 November 2020).
* Source: Statistics Estonia, National Library of Estonia
Updated 23 September, 2020
PUBLISHED BOOKS AND BROCHURES (1991-2019)
Year | Titles | Copies per inhabitant | Copies total |
1991 | 1 654 | 14.9 | 23 295 700 |
1992 | 1 557 | 10.2 | 15 939 600 |
1993 | 1 965 | 8.2 | 12 312 800 |
1994 | 2 291 | 5.7 | 8 586 800 |
1995 | 2 635 | 5.3 | 7 930 400 |
1996 | 2 628 | 4.4 | 6 663 000 |
1997 | 3 317 | 5.0 | 7 361 000 |
1998 | 3 090 | 4.1 | 5 983 000 |
1999 | 3 265 | 4.9 | 7 117 000 |
2000 | 3 466 | 4.1 | 5 931 000 |
2001 | 3 506 | 4.0 | 5 456 000 |
2002 | 3 458 | 3.9 | 5 362 000 |
2003 | 3 727 | 4.1 | 5 607 000 |
2004 | 3 994 | 4.2 | 5 805 000 |
2005 | 4 060 | 4.4 | 6 009 000 |
2006 | 4 040 | 5.4 | 7 256 000 |
2007 | 4 310 | 6.6 | 8 853 000 |
2008 | 4 685 | 5.4 | 7 254 000 |
2009 | 4 551 | 5.1 | 6 865 000 |
2010 | 3 760 | 4.1 | 5 45 0000 |
2011 | 3 716 | 3.4 | 4 431 000 |
2012 | 3 971 | 3.6 | 4 640 000 |
2013 | 3 887 | 3.6 | 4 791 000 |
2014 | 4 450 | 4.1 | 5.455.000 |
2015 | 3 976 | 3.5 | 4.643.000 |
2016 | 3 794 | 3.3 | 4.643.000 |
2017 | 3 916 | 3.1 | 4.067.000 |
2018 | 3 792 | 2.7 | 3.592.000 |
2019 | 3 597 | 2.5 | 3.252.500 |
* Source: Statistics Estonia, National Library of Estonia