According to figures released by the Associação Portuguesa de Editores e Livreiros (APEL), a total of 3.622 million books were sold from July to September this year, marking a 3.7% increase compared to the same period last year.
The sales resulted in a financial gain of 52.640 million euros, which is a 5% increase compared to the third quarter of 2024, based on data provided to APEL by Gfk, an independent entity responsible for auditing and counting book sales throughout the year.
The rise in the number of units sold was recorded despite an increase of 1.2% in the average book price, which reached 14.53 euros, compared to the average prices in the third quarter of the previous year.
Regarding sales outlets, bookstores accounted for 77.4% of the book sales in this third quarter, while hypermarkets contributed 22.6%.
In terms of categories, fiction was the most sought-after genre, constituting 35.5% of the total units sold at an average price of 16.94 euros, which represents 41.4% of the sales volume.
Children’s and youth literature followed, with a 33.1% market share in the number of books sold at an average unit price of 11.63 euros, translating to 26.5% of the total sales value.
Non-fiction books accounted for 28.2% in units at an average price of 16.07 euros, making up 31.2% of the market value.
The least representative genre, campaigns and exclusives, contributed 3.1% in the number of units sold and 0.9% of the final amount, with the average price of these publications being around 4.09 euros.
The overall numbers for this third quarter also indicate growth compared to the previous quarter (April-June 2025), during which nearly 3.278 million books were sold, totaling 47.683 million euros.
