7.6 books produced per person in Turkey: Report

ISTANBUL

An average of 7.6 books are produced per person in Turkey, recent Culture and Tourism Ministry numbers showed.

A total of 633 million physical books were produced in Turkey in 2020, making the number of physical books produced per person 7.6, according to data from the General Directorate of Copyright of the Ministry.

This statistic excludes books downloaded from digital platforms and books that are not required to receive an excise stamp.

The sale of non-periodical prints increased by 2.26 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year and rose to 433.2 million, according to official numbers.

The highest number of book sales according to the type of work was again in the education category, corresponding to about 50 percent of all books sold.

In 2020, 90 million books with excise stamps in the adult category, 44 million in the child-youth category, and 32 million in the adult fiction category were sold.

In the same year, 26 million book banderols were sold in the belief category, 5.5 million in the academic field, and 5 million in the imported publication category.

The total number of books published and distributed for free in Turkey last year was over 200 million.

Of these publications, 123 million were primary school textbooks and 77 million were secondary education textbooks.

A total of 679 producer certificates, 378 of which are cinema and 301 music, were given by the ministry in 2020.

There was a 2 percent increase in optional registration processes, and the total number increased to 1,336 in 2020.

The rights holder group benefited most from the registration procedures at the request of the authors, the owners of scientific and literature works.

According to the data, while 601 scientific literary works, 165 fine art works, 447 computer programs, 42 music and 81 cinema works were registered in 2020.