John Dean – Crime Writer

NielsenIQ BookData and GfK Entertainment have released their international data for book sales in the first eight months of 2025, and it reveals a mixed picture.

Eleven out of 19 territories reported revenue growth, often accompanied by significant price increases, with crime fiction performing particularly well.

The authors of the report say that international book markets witnessed subdued non-fiction sales which declined in many areas but strong performances in fiction genres including crime and thriller, science-fiction and fantasy.

Covering January to August 2025, the figures show that 11 of the 19 territories surveyed reported revenue growth compared to the same period last year. India (+28.6%), Brazil (+10.8%), Colombia (+9.6%), and Portugal (+8.4%) reported particularly strong increases.

France and the United Kingdom, the largest markets in the report with sales of 186 million and 115 million units respectively, ended the first eight months of 2025 with slight revenue declines of -0.8% and -0.4%. The Netherlands (-0.7%), Poland (-1.3%), German-speaking Switzerland (-1.8%), and Italy (-2.6%) also recorded downturns. The biggest fall occurred in French-speaking Switzerland, the Romandy region (- 4.4%).

Eight of the territories reported an increase in the number of books sold. In addition to growth markets like India (+27.1%) and Brazil (+10.0%), these included Australia (+2.0%) and New Zealand (+8.4%). Elsewhere, sales declined, such as in Italy (-3.0%) and Belgium’s Wallonia region (-2.2%).

Average book prices rose across the board, helping in part to counteract the drop in sales volumes. In Spain, for example, the average price increased by +4.1% to €16.04 per title. Mexico (280.58 MXN) and the Netherlands (€16.21) both reported price hikes of +4.0%. New Zealand was the only market where average selling prices fell, falling -4.0% to NZ$21.03 year on year.

As in the previous year, the fiction segment developed positively, with 14 of 19 territories reporting revenue growth. Crime authors including Freida McFadden played a key role.

Novels in the American writer’s The Housemaid series top the overall year-to-date charts in France, Spain, Belgium’s Wallonia region, and the Romandy, and are among the top five bestselling novels in Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, and the UK in 2025. In France, McFadden takes all five spots in its overall year-to-date bestseller list.

Science fiction, fantasy, and romantasy titles, such as Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series and Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses, also proved popular. Across numerous territories, the BookTok community on TikTok has inspired these and many other authors and titles to become bestsellers with The Let Them Theory and The Pope biography among non-fiction bestsellers.

Non-fiction books saw revenue growth in eight of the 19 countries analysed. Among the most successful titles were James Clear’s Atomic Habits, released in 2018, and Mel Robbins’ 2025 title The Let Them Theory. Robbins’ guide to letting go in an overstimulated world tops the overall 2025 year-to-date charts in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa, and is the number one bestselling non-fiction book of 2 2025 in Belgium (Flanders), the Netherlands, Poland, and the UK. Biographies such as Hope by the late Pope Francis and A Different Kind of Power by former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also enjoyed success.

Suzanne Collins dominates the children’s and young adult segment.

The top-selling children’s and young adult book so far in 2025 is Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. The second prequel to Collins’ The Hunger Games series was especially popular in Australia, France, Ireland, New Zealand, the Romandy, and the UK. Overall, ten countries increased their children’s and young adult books revenues year on year.

The analysis is based on sales of printed books from January to August 2025.