This article is about a principal type of circulation as a measure of readership. For the other principal type, see Library circulation.
Part of a newspaper 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.
Concept
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
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.
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.
The Herald Sun has the highest circulation in Australia. Based in one of the country's two major cities, Melbourne, it is the result of the amalgamation of the original Sun and Herald newspapers.
Belgium
The Belgian institution CIM (Centre for Information about Media) publishes national circulation figures for all written, audiovisual and web-based media in Belgium. The top ten best-selling papers according to their website [1] are Het Laatste Nieuws, 317,715; Het Nieuwsblad, 245,209; SUD Presse (group of papers focused on community specific content), 147,749; Het Belang van Limburg, 121,428; Le Soir, 113,780; Vers l'avenir, 109,287 (group of papers focused on community specific content); La Dernière Heure, 107,583; De Standaard, 104,758.
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Toronto Star is no longer the most circulated newspaper in Canada. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2021)
The most widely read paper in the country is the Toronto Star, which, as of the six-month period ending on March 31, 2007, averaged 634,886 copies sold on Saturday, 436,694 Monday to Friday, and 442,265 on Sunday.[3] The second most widely read paper is Toronto-based national newspaper The Globe and Mail, which averaged 374,000 copies on Saturdays, and 303,000 Monday to Friday. The most widely read French-language newspaper is Le Journal de Montréal, which averaged 319,899 copies on Saturday, 267,404 Monday to Friday, and 264,733 on Sunday. Unlike in the United States, newspapers in Canada published their biggest and mostly widely read editions on Saturdays.
As of August 2016, the top 6 best-selling papers are respectively: Hürriyet, 340,898; Sözcü, 322,829; Sabah, 313,989; Posta, 302,919; Habertürk, 253,256 and Milliyet, 143,577.
The heyday of the newspaper industry was the 1940s, but the percentage of Americans reading newspapers began to decline with the increased competition from radio, television and, more recently, the Internet. A growing population helped the absolute circulation numbers continue to increase until the 1970s, where it remained stable until the 1990s, when absolute circulation numbers began declining.
Newspaper circulation numbers are reported to the Alliance for Audited Media. The best-selling papers in America, measured by combined daily average circulation as of March 31, 2013, are the Wall Street Journal with 2,378,827 in circulation; The New York Times at 1,865,318; and USA Today with 1,674,306. Overall, for the 593 reporting newspapers, daily circulation declined 0.7 percent year-over-year between March 2012 and March 2013. Sunday circulation was down 1.4 percent over the same period.[7]
Newspaper delivery: 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."