With the global digital education market valued at $111 billion, educational publishing is being reshaped by content moving from print shelves to screens and platforms. At the same time, U.S. educators juggle scale and personalization, with teachers reporting a median of 1 to 2 hours per week adapting digital materials for student needs. These contrasts help explain why market spending, adoption rates, and learning outcomes are shifting in ways that rarely show up in the same dataset.
Key Takeaways
- 1.46 million K–12 teachers were employed in the United States in 2021 (National Center for Education Statistics, NCES).
- 24.1 million children and students were in public K–12 schools in the United States in 2019–20 (NCES).
- In a 2022 survey, 62% of U.S. K–12 teachers said their district provides a digital curriculum (ISTE/CoSN).
- 2.2% of U.S. consumers’ expenditures were allocated to “Education and vocational services” in 2022 (BEA PCE share by function).
- $1.7 billion in publisher revenues in the U.S. for K–12 and higher ed textbook and instructional materials (estimated by Bowker/WIPO/market summaries in Bowker’s publishing industry analysis for 2022).
- Textbook and course material prices increased 6.9% from 2012 to 2022 in the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI data for textbooks and school supplies).
- $21.7 billion in U.S. K–12 education materials was spent in 2021 (industry summary reported by Publishers Weekly referencing market data).
- 4.8% of total U.S. GDP was spent on education in 2022 (OECD Education at a Glance provides comparable data).
- OECD reported that 6.1% of GDP was spent on education on average across OECD countries in 2022 (Education at a Glance 2023).
- Teachers spent a median of 1–2 hours per week adapting content to meet student needs using digital resources (RAND teacher survey results published on RAND.org).
- In a 2014 RAND review, 47% of students using online learning improved their learning outcomes relative to those not using it (RAND meta-analysis citing effect size evidence).
- In a 2010 meta-analysis of educational technology interventions, students gained 0.33 standard deviations on average compared with controls (University of Kentucky / Cheung et al., as cited in a published paper).
- The U.S. textbook market declined by 3.2% in 2023 due to continued digital shift (Publishers Weekly market coverage).
- UNESCO reported that 60% of countries have AI-related education or digital policy work in progress (UNESCO AI and education report).
- In 2021, 58% of educators reported using digital materials to support instruction at least weekly (RAND educator survey, reported on RAND.org).
Teachers, students, and publishers are rapidly shifting to digital learning as U.S. education spending keeps rising.
Related reading
01 · Category
Workforce & Schools4 stats
01
1.46 million K–12 teachers were employed in the United States in 2021 (National Center for Education Statistics, NCES).
02
24.1 million children and students were in public K–12 schools in the United States in 2019–20 (NCES).
03
In a 2022 survey, 62% of U.S. K–12 teachers said their district provides a digital curriculum (ISTE/CoSN).
04
In the U.S., the student-to-teacher ratio was 14.1 in 2019–20 (NCES).
Interpretation
Workforce & Schools Interpretation
With 1.46 million K–12 teachers serving 24.1 million public school students and a 14.1 student-to-teacher ratio, the 62% of teachers reporting access to digital curriculum in 2022 signals a clear push to equip the workforce that is supporting today’s large school population.
02 · Category
Cost Analysis5 stats
01
2.2% of U.S. consumers’ expenditures were allocated to “Education and vocational services” in 2022 (BEA PCE share by function).
02
$1.7 billion in publisher revenues in the U.S. for K–12 and higher ed textbook and instructional materials (estimated by Bowker/WIPO/market summaries in Bowker’s publishing industry analysis for 2022).
03
Textbook and course material prices increased 6.9% from 2012 to 2022 in the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI data for textbooks and school supplies).
04
In 2024, the U.S. CPI for “textbooks and other school supplies” increased by 1.7% year-over-year (BLS CPI-U category data).
05
In the U.S., education expenditures per student in public elementary and secondary schools were $14,098in 2021 (NCES).
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost analysis perspective, textbook and school material prices rose 6.9% from 2012 to 2022 and climbed another 1.7% year over year in 2024, indicating that educational publishing costs have continued to edge upward for U.S. families and schools despite relatively small overall spending shares such as 2.2% of consumer expenditures on education and vocational services in 2022.
03 · Category
Market Size6 stats
01
$21.7 billion in U.S. K–12 education materials was spent in 2021 (industry summary reported by Publishers Weekly referencing market data).
02
4.8% of total U.S. GDP was spent on education in 2022 (OECD Education at a Glance provides comparable data).
03
OECD reported that 6.1% of GDP was spent on education on average across OECD countries in 2022 (Education at a Glance 2023).
04
In 2022, the global digital education market was valued at $111 billion (Fortune Business Insights).
05
The global K–12 education market is expected to reach $1,421.2 billion by 2028 (MarketsandMarkets).
06
North America accounted for 33% of the global e-learning market in 2022 (Fortune Business Insights).
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size data shows strong, growing demand for educational publishing, with global digital education reaching $111 billion in 2022 and the global K–12 education market projected to climb to $1,421.2 billion by 2028, while U.S. K–12 spending alone was $21.7 billion in 2021.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics4 stats
01
Teachers spent a median of 1–2 hours per week adapting content to meet student needs using digital resources (RAND teacher survey results published on RAND.org).
02
In a 2014 RAND review, 47% of students using online learning improved their learning outcomes relative to those not using it (RAND meta-analysis citing effect size evidence).
03
In a 2010 meta-analysis of educational technology interventions, students gained 0.33 standard deviations on average compared with controls (University of Kentucky / Cheung et al., as cited in a published paper).
04
A 2016–2018 pilot study found students using open textbooks had higher pass rates by about 6% compared to traditional textbook cohorts (peer-reviewed publication by Colvard et al.).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics show that educational publishing tools are making measurable gains, with online learning linked to a 47% improvement in outcomes, tech interventions averaging a 0.33 standard deviation lift, and open textbooks raising pass rates by about 6%.
05 · Category
Industry Trends2 stats
01
The U.S. textbook market declined by 3.2% in 2023 due to continued digital shift (Publishers Weekly market coverage).
02
UNESCO reported that 60% of countries have AI-related education or digital policy work in progress (UNESCO AI and education report).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
The Industry Trends signal is clear as the U.S. textbook market fell 3.2% in 2023 amid a continued digital shift and UNESCO finds 60% of countries are already working on AI related education or digital policy.
06 · Category
User Adoption4 stats
01
In 2021, 58% of educators reported using digital materials to support instruction at least weekly (RAND educator survey, reported on RAND.org).
02
OpenStax reported serving 49 million learners worldwide in 2023 (OpenStax annual report metrics).
03
OER Commons recorded 6.4 million learners and 33 million resource views in 2022 (OER Commons annual report, accessible).
04
In OECD countries, 41% of students reported that they never or hardly ever use digital devices for schoolwork (PISA data).
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption is clearly accelerating but uneven, with 58% of educators using digital materials weekly and major platforms reaching tens of millions of learners such as OpenStax’s 49 million learners and OER Commons’ 6.4 million learners in 2022, yet OECD data still shows 41% of students never or hardly ever using digital devices for schoolwork.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Marcus Afolabi. (2026, February 13). Educational Publishing Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/educational-publishing-industry-statistics
MLA
Marcus Afolabi. "Educational Publishing Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/educational-publishing-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Marcus Afolabi. 2026. "Educational Publishing Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/educational-publishing-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
25 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)