Datastream
Print Has Prevailed: The Staying Power of Physical Books
The Briefing
- Survey data from 10 different countries shows that a majority of people still prefer print books over e-books.
- 42.5% of respondents purchased at least one print book in 2020—that’s significantly more than the 15.5% who’d bought at least one e-book.
- Out of the 10 countries surveyed, Germany has the most print book lovers. 58% of German respondents bought a print book in 2020.
The Staying Power of Print Books
E-books are certainly not a new phenomenon. In fact, they’ve been around longer than the internet.
Yet, while the emergence of e-books dates back to the early 1970s, they didn’t hit the mainstream until the 2000s, when big companies began launching their own e-book readers, and digital libraries started to become more accessible to the public.
Around this time, sales for e-books started to soar, and by 2013, e-book sales made up 20% of all books sales in America. Many wondered if this was the end for print books.
But fast forward to 2021, and e-books haven’t made print books obsolete. At least, not yet.
E-book versus Print Book Purchases
A recent poll found that people still favor print books over e-books, at least when it comes to their purchasing behavior.
Of the 10 countries included in the survey, an estimated 42% of people had purchased at least one print book in 2020, while only 15.5% had bought an e-book that same year.
Here’s a look at all 10 countries, and the estimated share of their population who bought physical versus e-books in 2020:
| Country | Physical Books | E-books |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇳 China | 32.0% | 24.4% |
| 🇺🇸 United States | 44.5% | 22.7% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 48.7% | 20.0% |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 40.1% | 17.3% |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 34.6% | 16.8% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 41.2% | 15.9% |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 49.3% | 14.3% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 58.0% | 10.4% |
| 🇫🇷 France | 52.1% | 7.5% |
| 🇮🇳 India | 24.5% | 5.6% |
| Average | 42.5% | 15.5% |
China had the highest portion of e-book lovers—an estimated 24.4% of its population purchased an e-book in 2020, which is more than 8 percentage points higher than the average across the whole list.
On the other end of the spectrum, e-books are least popular in India, where an estimated 5.6% of the country’s population purchased an e-book in 2020. Keep in mind, the country has a lower percentage of book purchasers in general.
Why Print Has Prevailed
Why are print books still more popular than e-books? There are many theories. One study suggests that readers retain information better from a print book versus an e-book, while other consumer surveys found that e-books haven’t yet managed to fully simulate the tactile experience of a print book.
However, while e-books might not eradicate print books entirely, the market for digital books is expected to grow in the near future. By 2025, global revenue from e-books could reach $18.4 billion, with 1.2 billion users across the globe.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Statista
Economy
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.
The Briefing
- Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
- After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low
Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve
Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.
More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.
Methodology and Results
The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.
| Year | Fed chair | % Great deal or Fair amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jerome Powell | 36% |
| 2022 | Jerome Powell | 43% |
| 2021 | Jerome Powell | 55% |
| 2020 | Jerome Powell | 58% |
| 2019 | Jerome Powell | 50% |
| 2018 | Jerome Powell | 45% |
| 2017 | Janet Yellen | 45% |
| 2016 | Janet Yellen | 38% |
| 2015 | Janet Yellen | 42% |
| 2014 | Janet Yellen | 37% |
| 2013 | Ben Bernanke | 42% |
| 2012 | Ben Bernanke | 39% |
| 2011 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
| 2010 | Ben Bernanke | 44% |
| 2009 | Ben Bernanke | 49% |
| 2008 | Ben Bernanke | 47% |
| 2007 | Ben Bernanke | 50% |
| 2006 | Ben Bernanke | 41% |
| 2005 | Alan Greenspan | 56% |
| 2004 | Alan Greenspan | 61% |
| 2003 | Alan Greenspan | 65% |
| 2002 | Alan Greenspan | 69% |
| 2001 | Alan Greenspan | 74% |
Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”
We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.
For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.
On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.
Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.
Confidence Now on the Decline
After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.
This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:
- Negative impact on the stock market
- Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
- Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable
Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Gallup (2023)
Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.
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