Book sales in the Netherlands declined slightly in 2025 but turnover remained the same due to price hikes, figures published by book promotion foundation CPNB show.

A total of 44 million paper and e-books were bought last year, two million down on 2024, which was “an exceptionally good year”, the CPNB said.

Turnover remained the same at €697 million because books went up in price.

Last year was a particularly good year for streaming services offering e-books and audiobooks, which saw their turnover grow by over a third.

That does not, however, mean streaming services are “cannibalising” physical bookshops. Although streaming services are not keen to share download figures, it looks like they may be reaching new readers, the foundation said.

Libraries are also benefiting from the interest in e-books and audiobooks, with almost 6 million takeouts of e-books and 2.9 million of audiobooks, 5% more than in 2024.

Mizzi van der Pluim of publishing firm Pluim said the streaming services are not a threat but are paying authors too little. “If you want literature to continue, you can’t squeeze authors dry as they do,” she told broadcaster NOS.

Bookshop owners had a less successful year, with 5% fewer books sold. According to CPNB director Evelien Aendekerk, that is partly down to the lack of “big best sellers” to buoy up the market.

Dutch language book sales went down by 4% in all genres, “a clear dip”, Aendekerk said, although the market for English language did not grow either.

“Despite some setbacks, the total picture of the Dutch book market inspires confidence in the Dutch reading culture,” she said.