WORLD PRESS TRENDS - World Association of Newspapers

TITLES AND CIRCULATIONS
Change (%)
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 98/2002 2001/02
No. daily titles
USA 1,489 1,483 1,476 1,468 1,469 -1.34 0.07
Japan 108 109 110 106 105 -2.78 -0.94
EU 1,139 1,132 1,124 1,128 1,118 -1.84 -0.89
Other countries * 2,800 2,957 3,226 3,284 3,312 18.29 0.85
Total 5,536 5,681 5,936 5,986 6,004 8.45 0.30
Circulation of daily titles (000)
USA 56,182 55,979 55,945 55,578 55,186 -1.77 -0.71
Japan 72,410 72,218 71,896 71,694 70,815 -2.20 -1.23
EU 80,924 81,157 79,607 79,137 77,652 -4.04 -1.88
Other countries * 163,010 171,967 180,488 186,567 187,960 15.31 0.75
Total 372,526 381,321 387,936 392,976 391,613 5.12 -0.35
Average circulation per title (000)
USA 37.7 37.7 37.9 37.9 37.6 -0.44 -0.77
Japan 670.5 662.6 653.6 676.4 674.4 0.59 -0.29
EU 71.0 71.7 70.8 70.2 69.5 -2.24 -1.00
Other countries * 58.2 58.2 55.9 56.8 56.8 -2.52 -0.11
Total 67.3 67.1 65.4 65.6 65.2 -3.07 -0.65
* All other countries in this book, except Chile, East Timor, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Pakistan,
Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and Uganda
The above table displays the number of daily titles, and
their circulation, in four blocs – the USA, Japan, the EU
and ‘Other countries’. This last category includes all the
other countries in this book for which we have sufficient
information. Note that we have estimated some figures
for countries that do not have a complete set of data for
all five years.
The long-term trends displayed in the above table will be
familiar to regular readers of this report. Newspaper
circulation figures are gradually falling across the
developed world as other media, such as television and
the internet, compete for the time and attention of
consumers, particularly the young. Circulations are falling
fastest in the EU – they fell by 4.0% between 1998 and
2002, and by 1.9% in 2002 alone. In developing markets,
however, circulation figures are rising rapidly. This is
partly a function of rapid population growth in many
developing countries, but also the result of rising literacy
and wealth, which means more people can read
newspapers and can afford to buy them. Improved
communication and distribution networks also allow
newspapers to deliver timely news to more and more
remote areas.
The average circulation of daily newspapers in each region
has been more stable than the total circulation. This is
simply because publishers tend to launch new titles in
markets where circulation figures are rising, and close or
consolidate titles in declining markets. The average
circulation of a newspaper varies greatly across the world:
in 2002 it was 674,400 in Japan, 69,500 in the EU, 37,600 in
the USA, and 56,800 in the rest of the world. This seems
to be simply a matter of taste: in some countries, readers
like to get their news from large national titles, while in
others readers prefer small newspapers with local
identities.
WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS - WORLD PRESS TRENDS 2003
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