2005 market figures (estimated):
Total market: USD 727 million
Total imports: USD 597 million
U.S. import market share: 2.2 %
Estimated market growth rate for 2006: 0.5 %
- The German-speaking area of Switzerland (64% of the country) in particular is regarded as very receptive for English books.
- Preferred reading in the German-speaking part of Switzerland includes fiction and non-fiction.
- Preferred reading in the French-speaking part of Switzerland (20%) includes fiction, travel-related books, crime novels and comics
- There are no pronounced preferences in the Italian-speaking part of the country (6%).
- Switzerland is home to some of the most avid readers in the world, and seventy percent of Swiss report reading at least 30 minutes per day.
- There is one specialized bookshop per 11,400 Swiss, one of the highest ratios in the world.
- Best prospects for US publishers include education, fiction, science, business, dictionaries, and IT.
- The introduction of English as a foreign language in primary school in many cantons is expected to lead to an increased demand for English-language education books over the next few years and to a long-term increase in demand for all types of English-language books.