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Print circulation

Print circulation is the average number of copies of a publication. The number of copies of a non-periodical publication (such as a book) are usually called print run. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulation, since some issues are distributed without cost to the reader. Readership figures are usually higher than circulation figures because of the assumption that a typical copy is read by more than one person.

This article is about a principal type of circulation as a measure of readership. For the other principal type, see Library circulation.

Concept[edit]

Print circulation is a good proxy measure of print readership and is thus one of the principal factors used to set print advertising rates (prices). In many countries, circulations are audited by independent bodies such as the Audit Bureau of Circulations to assure advertisers that a given newspaper does reach the number of people claimed by the publisher. There are international open access directories such as Mondo Times,[1] but these generally rely on numbers reported by newspapers themselves.

World newspapers with the largest circulation[edit]

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) publishes a list of newspapers with the largest circulation. In 2011, India led the world in terms of newspaper circulation with nearly 330 million newspapers circulated daily.[2] In 2010, China topped the list in term of total newspaper circulation with 110.78 million a day, ahead of India in second with 100.993 million, followed by Japan, with 50.4 million; the United States, with 48.5 million; and Germany, with 19.7 million. In the 2019 survey, among the top 10 newspapers, all were Asian newspapers and four were Japanese newspapers.


The Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun (読売新聞), Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞) are still the largest circulated newspapers in the world. The Times of India is the largest circulated English-language daily newspaper in the world, across all formats (Broadsheet, Compact, Berliner and Online). Reference News (《参考消息》) is the most popular paper in China.


According to the Guinness Book of Records, the daily circulation of the Soviet newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda exceeded 21,500,000 in 1990, while the Soviet weekly Argumenty i Fakty boasted a circulation of 33,500,000 in 1991.


In many developed countries, print circulation is falling due to social and technological changes such as the availability of news on the internet. On the other hand, in some developing countries circulation is increasing as these factors are more than cancelled out by rising incomes, population, and literacy.

List of newspapers by circulation

List of magazines by circulation

: The circulation department of a newspaper, in addition to soliciting subscriptions, also distributes them to subscribers to the print edition. The last step is newspaper delivery consisting of newspaper routes run either by motor vehicle or traditional adolescent "paper boys."

Newspaper delivery

Printer's key

Newspaper Map (circulation worldwide)

BPA Worldwide: Media Auditing

The State of the Media 2004 from journalism.org

Alliance for Audited Media web site

The Front Pages of the Main Newspapers of the World

Editor & Publisher Yearbook On-line with circulation statistics

Searchable database of Canadian newspaper circulation figures from the Canadian Newspaper Association

English Newspaper in Spain