In the US, 20 percent of the population are estimated to have purchased an e-book last year, compared to 30 percent who bought a printed book.
China is the only country of those studied that saw the opposite trend, with only 24 percent of people having bought a printed book in the 12 months prior to the survey, while around 27 percent of people bought an e-book in that time frame.
Looking at forecasts for the book market on a worldwide scale, Statista analysts predict that while e-books have grown in popularity, they will not be the final nail in the coffin of printed books but rather a complementary product that should ultimately benefit the publishing industry.
