Between 1815 and 1975, it was estimated that there could have been 5 billion bibles printed. The bible sells best because it is living, powerful and universally desired. Sep 22, 2006 if you dont count that harry potter books then you cant count the bible either, because they are counting it as all the versions, new and old, king james, picture, gideon etc. Oct 19, 2015 the bible remains the worlds most translated book, with at least one book now available in a staggering 3,312 languages. Feb 02, 2018 of course, the bible stills remains the worlds most purchased tome, at 6 billion copies sold, according to guinness world records. The bible is the most influential book in american history and contemporary american life. The bible, with an estimated over 6 billion copies sold publishers say there is no way to track exact copies sold in its lifetime, is by far the bestselling and most translated book in the world. Bestselling books are ranked by number of copies sold, not my personal ratings. Its the most widely read, most fiercely debated, and most often quoted book in history. May 23, 20 yes, the bible is still the best seller in the world and it is the only book inspired by god 2peter 1. The new testament is available in 2,191 languages, while the old and new testaments together can be read in 670 languages.
Or it could be thought of as the best selling collection of books of all time, as it actually has dozens of books by a great number of authors over millenia. May 25, 2017 more than 2,100 languages have at least one book of the bible in that language. Yes, the bible is still the best seller in the world and it is the only book inspired by god 2peter 1. Sure, the best selling book of alltime is, of course, the bible. In my version of the the list, the bible remained the top seller in the world, with sales figures ranging. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2. Harry potter becomes bestselling book series in history with. The bible, which ranks as the worlds most read book, has sold 3.
And then it is only a vague guess, probably inflated by the xtains. Published in 1611, the king james bible spread quickly throughout europe. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years. It addresses inward, private thoughts and feelings, as well as outward, publicly expressed words and actions. Scholars can debate endlessly over which book is the best of all time, but finding out which ones have enjoyed the most commercial success should be a more concrete endeavor. Each year, some 60 million copies of the entire bible or portions of it are distributed. The bible, which ranks as the worlds mostread book, has sold 3.
Oct 28, 2010 the bible is printed in more than 2000 languages and more copies of the bible are been sold every year than any other book ever published jamal, memorizing books is wot uneducated and silly people are made to do by people in authority. Why the king james bible of 1611 remains the most popular. Oct 05, 2015 well, it is easy to claim that if you package a thousand different versions and then claim the sale of each one counts as a sale. The imitation of christ by thomas a kempis 1418 sales unknown, but widely regarded as the bestselling christian title after the bible. Although, to be fair, it should be pointed out that it has had hundreds of different translations, so its best selling status could be.
The familiar observation that the bible is the bestselling book of all time. History has proven over the years that this book is indestructible. There are annual sales of 40 million bibles from study bibles to. Another group upheld it as the worlds mostread books. It is clearly one of the most controversial books in modern times though perhaps not so much for its content as the actions of some who interpret it. Dickson goes on to explain what he says in his book. It is by far the most widely circulated book on earth. The bible has sold billions of copies and is the best selling book of all time.
Today the bible is available in more languages that ever before. The best selling and fastest growing version of the bible in the united states is the niv. Also, it is worth noting that some religious and political books such as the bible, quran, and quotations from chairman mao are believed to. Oct 17, 2012 one group claimed the bible as the worlds bestselling book. The first edition printed from movable type came off the. According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the best selling book of all time, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. In any case, our list goes from the least popular best seller to.
Other than the bible, which is the far and away the best selling christian book of all time with sales in the billions, here is my list for your consideration. Additionally, since the bible is sold worldwide, calculating exact numbers becomes tricky. The bible is the most widely distributed and best selling book in the world. I hope the below estimations show that the quran is in fact the most read book. The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world. Researchers have collated the figures for the number of editions, translations and copies sold of the worlds most popular books these are the most loved tomes. These are the 12 most popular books of all time indy100. Also, nobody likes people like john galt or those who try to follow him. In 1995, one version of the bible, the good news version that is ed by the bible societies, had sold nearly 18 million copies. The bible is printed in more than 2000 languages and more copies of the bible are been sold every year than any other book ever published jamal, memorizing books is wot uneducated and silly people are made to do by people in authority. The second bestselling book of all time crisis magazine. This page includes a list of the 25 bestselling books of alltime as well as the 25 bestselling book series of alltime.
It also proves that gods word is a moneymaker for todays christian publishers. The top selling weight watchers book is the weight watchers new complete cookbook, fourth edition. The bible and quotations from chairman mao still vie for the top spot. This page provides lists of bestselling individual books and book series to date and in any. Lets begin with the prayer of jabez by bruce wilkinson. Jul 10, 2019 the bible 100 million copies are sold each year. Its estimated to have sold around 6 billion copies worldwide precise figures are nearly impossible to conclude, for. As more people seek education, the demand for knowledge increases and authors are striving to fulfill the demand. The bible is the alltime bestselling book but do you know what the nextbestselling book is.
The bible is often said to be the worlds best sold book but search the best seller lists and you wont find it anywhere, top to bottom. The bible has been translated into 349 languages, and a survey conducted by the bible society concluded that between 1815 and 1975, around 2. Is the bible still the bestselling book in the world. According to guinness world records, the bible is the bestselling book of all time, with over 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Is bible the worlds bestselling or mostread or most. The bible, however, is exceptional even among classical works. The bible tells a story from the first book, genesis, to the last book, revelation, that people long to be true. The guinness book of world records estimates that more than 5 billion copies of the bible have been printed. The bible is the worlds bestselling book, having sold more than five billion copies.
Aug 28, 2015 the last niv study bible, published by zondervan in 1985, sold more than 9 million copies. Why is the bible still the worlds best selling book. Is the bible still the best selling book of all time answers. Oct 26, 2010 the bible still the best selling book. One of the bibles most popular translations is the niv new international versions and newer versions, like the esv english standard version also sell remarkably well. We made a little comparison with the best selling bible translations in 2017, and, trust us, the results dont differ much. The worlds most widely distributed book watchtower online. This article discusses the worlds bestselling books. The bible is the best selling book of all time and still going strong. The third group considered it as the mostprinted and mostdistributed book. While the novel enjoys surges in popularity now and then, especially in spain, the sales number is a guess. The book of psalms easily wins, probably because it is both the longest book in the bible 150 chapters and it covers every human emotion and every circumstance in life.
It is also the most widely and given some of the liberties taken, wildly translated book of all time, too. Now the new israel bible just hit number one on amazon, designed to appeal to both christians and jews. The bible, the quran, and quotation from chairman mao, often reported as the mostprinted and mostdistributed books worldwide have hundreds of millions of copies to their credit. Apr 16, 2019 published in 1611, the king james bible spread quickly throughout europe. Bible most owned, least read book in history ledgerenquirer. He found that the bible far outsold any other book, with a whopping 3. In my version of the the list, the bible remained the top seller in the world, with sales figures ranging widely. The quotations from chairman mao tsetung, also known as the little red book, has produced a wide array of sales and distribution figures with estimates ranging from 800 million to over 6. Its complexity can boggle great minds, and yet its simplicity can be understood by children. As for layout, this nlt edition of the book is still laid out like a traditional novel book and not dual columns per page, like most bibles. Christian books still dominate alltime bestsellers lists. The familiar observation that the bible is the bestselling book of all time obscures a more startling fact. Jul 23, 2017 hi all, here is my opinion based on facts and partly on assumptions.
But the king james version is still near the top of the list. Although bible sales in america have been robust for the past decade, the business is still fraught with anxieties. Similarly, many notable book series that sold very widely are poorly documented land of. Brett buckner is an independent correspondent and can be. I was maybe hopping for a better metric then the number of book sold if it exists. Thousands of books are written, published and distributed every day. The bible is easily one of the bestselling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard to nail down. So many have tried to disclaim the authority and truth of this book and have tried to destroy it but because god is in control this book will forever be. So if you hate reading booksbibles in dual column layout this is a great. Currently, the bible is the most sold book in the world, followed by quran and quotations from the chairman mao mao zedong. Nov 15, 20 chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. But in spite of the bans and the persecution the bible still enjoys the greatest popularity of any book ever produced in human language. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks. All my life ive been told the best selling book in the world is the bible.
Exact print statistics for such books are, in fact, not available, or inaccurate because many unrelated publishers have printed these books over several centuries. Stockbyte getty images scholars can debate endlessly over which book is the best of all time, but finding out which ones have enjoyed the most commercial success should be a more concrete endeavor. The bible is often said to be the worlds best sold book but search the. In order to create our list of the top bible translations in 2018, we checked resources such as the christian book expo, thoughtco, calvary chapel eastside church and bible sources for the most. Why is the bible always the number one zondervan academic. Is atlas shrugged the second most popular book next to the. Oct 10, 2016 sure, the bestselling book of alltime is, of course, the bible.
Although its written origins go back 3,500 years, it is still very much alive. Chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. Bloomsbury did not immediately respond to an email from syfy wire, while a rep for rowling declined to comment. For example, during the middle ages in certain christian lands, the possession and reading of the bible in the vernacular the language of the common people was increasingly associated with heresy and dissent, says the book an introduction to the medieval bible.
The new york times best sellers may 24, 2020 authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the united states, sorted by format and genre. As it is mentioned in the comments, many produced bibles were probably never read. This list does not preach at all, but is simply a brief examination of the stories from the bible that make it a well known and talkedabout book in world literature. The bible still remains at the top as the most read book in the world. To make the bible the most printed book you have to add up all its flavors. The bible has survived many vicious attacks by powerful people. This book contains over five hundred recipes spanning 482 pages. However, many more copies have been given away for free, meaning the actual number of bibles in circulation is unknown. As you can see from the graphic below created by designer jared fanning, the bible leads the countdown by a large margin, with nearly 4 billion copies printed and sold globally in the last five decades. The bestselling books of 2018 so far publishers weekly.
It is the oldest book on this list, so its had a long time to accrue sales. Still, to a lot of rowlings fans, all seven harry potter novels are like bibles to them. Is atlas shrugged the second most popular book next to the bible. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book.
Sep 07, 2010 the huffington post article actually named 16 books that have sold the most copies worldwide, noting that the bible is the top seller in the world. The bible is absolutely the greatest book ever written and as the word of god clearly states every knee shall bow one day. The huffington post article actually named 16 books that have sold the most copies worldwide, noting that the bible is the top seller in the world. Jun 24, 2012 even though the bible has been translated, published, read, studied, analyzed, bought, sold and given away freely since then, particularly in the english speaking world, it is still banned in many communities. The 1984 tlb was so much better and i pray tyndale will at sometime publish again the older, less tightened 1984 edition. If you would like to learn more about the bible and its author, jehovah god, i highly encourage you to visit. Similarly, many notable book series that sold very widely are poorly documented or consist of multiple subseries. Jan 06, 2019 all my life ive been told the best selling book in the world is the bible. In just the last 12 months, thomas nelson sold more than a million copies of the kjv. Best selling book in the world proud of every wrinkle. Theres no doubt about it the bible is one of the worlds bestselling books. It quickly became one of the best selling christian books of all time.
According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the bestselling book of all time, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Harper lees new novel go set a watchman, the followup to to kill a mockingbird, is set to become one of the fastest selling books of all time. The bible, the bestselling book, is also the worlds most shoplifted book. Over 100 million bibles are sold or given away for free every year in the world, according to the economist. Jun 28, 2016 other than the bible, which is the far and away the bestselling christian book of all time with sales in the billions, here is my list for your consideration. Because of the wealth of resources devoted to the project, it was the most faithful and scholarly translation to date. Could it be true that the bible is the bestselling book. Researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 mostread books in the world. This book was released in 2000 and it just absolutely exploded. Today ive narrowed down that list to the five most ridiculous books to ever become christian bestsellers.