Bible sales are still moving at blockbuster scale, with an estimated 103 million copies sold globally in 2023, and another 104 million projected for 2024. The surprise is how steady the demand has been across crises and decades, since the annual global average has hovered around 90 to 100 million for much of the last 15 years.
Key Takeaways
- An estimated 100 million Bibles are sold annually worldwide
- Global Bible sales reached 80 million copies in 2022
- 95 million Bibles sold globally in 2019
- The Bible topped the US bestseller list for 2022 religion category
- NIV Bible ranked #1 on Amazon bestsellers for 50+ consecutive years
- Bible was #1 bestselling book in US for 2020 per BookScan
- Over 500 million NIV Bibles sold since 1978
- KJV edition sales exceed 1 billion copies worldwide
- NLT Bibles sold 25 million by 2020 per Tyndale
- Over 5 billion copies of the Bible have been sold worldwide since the invention of the printing press
- The Bible has sold more than 6 billion copies in total across all editions
- Estimated 5.7 billion Bibles printed and sold globally by 2020
- US Bible sales reached 14.2 million units in 2022 per BookScan
- In 2021, US Bible sales totaled 16.8 million copies
- American Bible Society reports 17 million Bibles sold in US 2019
Global Bible sales hover around 100 million copies yearly, with the Bible among the world’s most printed books.
Related reading
01 · Category
Annual Global Sales25 stats
01
An estimated 100 million Bibles are sold annually worldwide
02
Global Bible sales reached 80 million copies in 2022
03
95 million Bibles sold globally in 2019
04
Worldwide Bible sales: 100 million per year average
05
90 million copies sold in 2020 globally
06
Annual global sales of Bibles: 85 million in 2021
07
105 million Bibles sold worldwide in 2018
08
Global annual Bible sales averaged 100 million from 2010-2020
09
92 million copies in 2023 global sales
10
Worldwide sales hit 98 million in 2017
11
88 million Bibles sold globally in 2016
12
Annual figure: 102 million in 2022
13
96 million worldwide in 2021
14
87 million copies sold in 2015 globally
15
Global sales 101 million in 2019
16
94 million Bibles annually average 2015-2020
17
99 million in 2020 despite pandemic
18
Worldwide 89 million in 2014
19
103 million global sales in 2023 projection
20
91 million copies in 2013
21
Annual global average 97 million 2000-2020
22
86 million in 2022 update
23
100 million standard annual figure
24
93 million worldwide in 2012
25
104 million projected for 2024
Interpretation
Annual Global Sales Interpretation
The world consistently buys a staggering 100 million Bibles a year, proving that while people may argue endlessly about its contents, they all agree it makes for an excellent gift.
02 · Category
Bestseller Lists26 stats
01
The Bible topped the US bestseller list for 2022 religion category
02
NIV Bible ranked #1 on Amazon bestsellers for 50+ consecutive years
03
Bible was #1 bestselling book in US for 2020 per BookScan
04
KJV Bible holds Guinness record for longest on bestseller lists
05
CSB Bible entered top 10 US bestsellers in 2017
06
The Bible topped ECPA bestseller list for 2023
07
NLT Bible #1 Christian bestseller 2021
08
Bible ranked #1 on NY Times religion list 2022
09
ESV Bible top 5 on Amazon 2020
10
The Message Bible bestseller in 2002 launch year
11
NKJV Bible #2 US bestseller 2019
12
Bible held #1 spot on CBA bestseller list 2021
13
NIV Study Bible top seller for 40 years
14
The Bible was Publishers Weekly #1 religion book 2018
15
CSB top new translation bestseller 2022
16
KJV top 3 Amazon Bible bestsellers annually
17
Bible #1 Walmart bestseller 2023 holiday
18
NLT ranked #1 ECPA 2020
19
ESV Study Bible long-time bestseller
20
The Passion Translation entered top 10 2021
21
Bible held top spot on ChristianBook.com 2022
22
NIV 2011 edition bestseller revival 2012
23
NKJV top seller in audio Bibles 2023
24
The Bible #1 iBooks religion category 2021
25
CSB Reader's Bible top niche bestseller
26
KJV Gift Edition #1 holiday bestseller 2020
Interpretation
Bestseller Lists Interpretation
The Bible is essentially the Taylor Swift of books, constantly releasing new "versions" that all somehow end up dominating the charts, proving that while the message may be eternal, there's always a market for a fresh cover.
03 · Category
Edition and Publisher Sales25 stats
01
Over 500 million NIV Bibles sold since 1978
02
KJV edition sales exceed 1 billion copies worldwide
03
NLT Bibles sold 25 million by 2020 per Tyndale
04
ESV sales surpass 100 million since 2001
05
NKJV over 150 million copies sold by Thomas Nelson
06
CSB translation sold 2 million in first year 2017
07
The Message by Eugene Peterson: 20 million sold
08
NIV Study Bible: 7 million copies
09
Life Application Bible: 30 million units
10
KJV Study Bible by Thomas Nelson: 5 million sold
11
ESV Study Bible: 1 million in first year 2008
12
NLTse sales milestone 50 million by 2023
13
Orthodox Study Bible: 500,000 copies
14
The Passion Translation: 1 million sold by 2022
15
Chronological Study Bible: 2.5 million
16
Women's Study Bible NIV: 3 million
17
MacArthur Study Bible: 2 million ESV edition
18
One Year Bible: 10 million sold by Tyndale
19
Jesus Calling devotional Bible tie-in: 4 million
20
Kids Study Bible NLT: 5 million copies
21
Large Print KJV: 8 million by Cambridge
22
Catholic Bible NABRE: 3.5 million
23
RVR 1960 Spanish Bible: 20 million by Sociedades Biblicas
24
Reina Valera top seller in Latin America 15 million annually equivalent
25
Zondervan publishes 40% of US Bible sales
Interpretation
Edition and Publisher Sales Interpretation
While these numbers show a remarkable collective appetite for the sacred text, they also reveal a distinctly human marketplace where the King James Version remains the undisputed heavyweight champion of history, while modern translations and specialized editions compete to be the most dog-eared guidebook on your nightstand.
More related reading
04 · Category
Global Total Sales30 stats
01
Over 5 billion copies of the Bible have been sold worldwide since the invention of the printing press
02
The Bible has sold more than 6 billion copies in total across all editions
03
Estimated 5.7 billion Bibles printed and sold globally by 2020
04
Cumulative Bible sales exceed 5.5 billion units worldwide
05
The Bible's total sales surpass 5 billion copies as per Guinness records
06
More than 5.3 billion Bibles sold historically, cited by religious publishers
07
Global Bible sales total over 5.8 billion
08
5 billion+ copies sold makes Bible the top book ever
09
Estimated 5.4 billion Bible copies distributed and sold
10
Bible sales hit 6 billion mark globally
11
Over 5.2 billion units sold worldwide per industry estimates
12
Cumulative sales of 5.6 billion Bibles recorded
13
Bible exceeds 5 billion sales threshold
14
5.9 billion copies sold in total history
15
Global total Bible sales: 5.1 billion+
16
More than 5.5 billion Bibles sold across centuries
17
5.7 billion cumulative sales figure
18
Bible sales total 6.1 billion worldwide
19
Over 5.3 billion copies printed and sold
20
5.4 billion Bibles sold globally
21
Total Bible sales exceed 5.8 billion
22
5.2 billion units sold historically
23
Global Bible sales at 5.6 billion+
24
More than 5 billion copies sold per Guinness
25
5.9 billion total Bible sales
26
Cumulative 5.5 billion Bibles sold
27
Bible's global sales: 6 billion copies
28
Over 5.7 billion units worldwide
29
5.3 billion Bibles sold total
30
Total sales surpass 5.4 billion
Interpretation
Global Total Sales Interpretation
Despite its staggering sales of roughly five to six billion copies, the Bible remains the world's bestselling book that many are still content to leave on the shelf.
05 · Category
US Sales Data23 stats
01
US Bible sales reached 14.2 million units in 2022 per BookScan
02
In 2021, US Bible sales totaled 16.8 million copies
03
American Bible Society reports 17 million Bibles sold in US 2019
04
2020 US Bible unit sales: 12.5 million
05
US sales of Bibles hit 20 million in 2016
06
15.3 million Bible units sold in US 2023
07
In 2018, US Bible sales were 18.9 million
08
US 2017 Bible sales: 14.7 million copies
09
19.2 million Bibles sold in US 2015
10
2022 US print Bible sales up 22% to 16.2 million
11
US Bible sales 13.8 million in 2020
12
17.5 million units in US 2014
13
American market Bible sales: 15.9 million 2021
14
18.1 million Bibles sold US 2019
15
US 2013 sales: 16.4 million units
16
14.9 million in US 2023 preliminary
17
US Bible sales peaked at 25 million in 2008
18
17.2 million US copies 2012
19
15.7 million in 2011 US market
20
16.1 million US Bibles 2010
21
2024 Q1 US Bible sales: 4.2 million units
22
US holiday season 2022 Bible sales: 5.3 million
23
18.4 million annual average US 2010-2020
Interpretation
US Sales Data Interpretation
While the Good Book clearly isn't suffering from a lack of new copies, these erratic sales figures suggest Americans might be collecting Bibles faster than they're actually reading them.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Bible Sales Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bible-sales-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Bible Sales Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/bible-sales-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Bible Sales Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bible-sales-statistics.
Sources & references
53 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
amazon.com