When it comes to book publishing, not all countries are created equal, as this distorted map of the world by the International Publishers Association shows. The sizes of the countries on the map are based on the value of their domestic publishing markets and visualized using a tool by viewsoftheworld.net. IPA and Rüdiger Wischenbart Content and Consulting, a book publishing consultant firm, used data from national publishers' associations and government export statistics.

As you can see, places like the U.S., Europe, and parts of Asia are engorged in illustration of their strong publishing industries. Meanwhile, Africa and the Middle East are tiny slivers, meaning that the number of books published in those places is extremely low compared to the rest of the world. As per the map some countries have significantly stronger global voices through books; the report aims to show where book publishing can grow. 

"The map demonstrates the way that books and the industry behind them reflect access to knowledge," according to the creators of the report. "The strategic goal going forward is certainly adjusting this map so that in the future, the world of publishing more closely resembles that standard map of geographers and demographers."

Map from IPA via Digital Book World

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at sdai at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Serena Dai