Portugal’s Book Industry Turns a Page with Record €200 M Sales

The aisles of Portugal’s bookshops are a little busier this year. Receipts show more titles changing hands and, unusually, the uptick is holding through the summer. For foreigners flipping through livros to polish their Portuguese—or scouting shelf space for a forthcoming translation—the headline is simple: the market is finally expanding, though it remains modest by European standards.

After years of flat lines, a clear upward curve

A long‐stagnant sector that rarely broke the €200 M ceiling has crossed it decisively. Private publishers posted €203.7 M in sales during 2024, up 8.8%, and the first half of 2025 has already added 6.4 M copies to the tally. Inflation ran just above 2%, so the growth is real, not merely nominal. Yet the absolute size still looks petite next to Spain’s €2 B industry or France’s €4 B: Portugal sells roughly 14 M books a year, about one for every eight residents.

What’s fuelling the momentum?

Analysts credit a potent mix of younger readers, social-media book clubs and a return to brick-and-mortar browsing after the pandemic. In the April-June quarter alone, children’s and YA titles snatched 38.5% of unit sales, proof that parents—and TikTok trendsetters—are stocking home libraries. Fiction keeps the cash flowing, however, pulling in 38% of revenue thanks to a higher average price of €16.82 per copy.

Where the money changes hands

Portugal’s cultural life is still shaped by the local livraria. Independent and chain bookstores handled 70.7% of units in Q2 2025, while hypermarkets took 29.3%. E-commerce, though growing fast in absolute terms, is counted inside those two buckets because most Portuguese retailers now sell both in-store and online. International platforms such as Fnac.pt and Amazon.es matter chiefly for imported language editions—handy intel for expats chasing English originals that smaller shops do not stock.

Screens, speakers and the stubborn love of paper

The physical page remains king: 92% of readers still prefer print. Even among 15-24-year-olds the figure is a robust 84%. That said, the share of Portuguese who sampled an e-book or audiobook climbed to 22% in 2024 and is edging higher this year, propelled by Storytel, Kobo and Kindle Unlimited. Publishers increasingly launch a digital edition on the same day as the hard copy, a shift that favours migrant readers who travel light or live far from major cities.

Public policy adds gentle tailwinds

Lisbon is not throwing massive subsidies at the sector, but a patchwork of initiatives helps. The Cheque-Livro gives 18- and 19-year-olds a €20 voucher to spend only in bookshops, while the PRR digitalisation grants—up to €18 885 per store—help small retailers upgrade websites and logistics. The PNL 2027 literacy plan continues to steer schools toward wider reading lists. Importantly for foreign residents, VAT on books stays at a friendly 6%, among the lowest cultural tax rates in Europe.

Why it matters for the international community

For expat authors, the numbers show a market large enough to test Portuguese translations but still hungry for fresh voices. For readers, the combination of steady price points (about €14.55 per book) and rising stock means better chances of finding bilingual editions. And for anyone considering a literary side hustle—from pop-up book fairs in the Algarve to niche e-commerce targeting tourists—the data suggests the pie is growing, however slowly.

Bottom line: Portugal’s book world is shedding its perennial malaise. The shelves are fuller, the audience a shade broader and the state’s light touch is, for once, helping more than hindering. Keep an eye on the annual figures this winter, but for now the novel you meant to write—or read—has an improving home on the Iberian west coast.