One in five titles published in Bulgaria in 2025 was a translation

More than 10,000 book and pamphlet titles were published in Bulgaria in 2025, with translations accounting for about one in five titles, according to data from the country’s National Statistical Institute (NSI).

A total of 10,267 books and pamphlets were published during the year, with a combined circulation of 5.313 million copies. Of these, 2,085 titles were translations, with a circulation of 1.512 million copies. Translated publications therefore accounted for 20.3% of all titles and 28.5% of the total circulation. 

For comparison, the Ukrainian Book Chamber received 15,069 titles in 2025, with a combined print run of 33.2 million copies. The total included 13,464 books and 1,605 brochures. The difference is notable given the countries’ populations: as of Dec. 31, 2025, Bulgaria had 6,423,207 residents, while the World Bank estimated Ukraine’s population at 38,980,376 in 2025.

English was by far the most common source language for translations, accounting for 50.9% of translated publications. French followed at 10.3%, Russian at 6%, and German at 5.8%. 

Translations were particularly prominent in literature. Of the 3,664 titles classified by the NSI as literature, 1,038 were translations. Their circulation reached 890,000 copies — exactly half of the category’s total circulation of 1.78 million copies. 

The difference was even more striking for literary texts. Bulgaria published 3,500 titles in this category, including 1,024 translations. Although translations accounted for 29.3% of the titles, their combined circulation reached 886,000 copies, compared with 799,000 copies for original literary texts. 

Translations also accounted for 172 of the 530 titles published in philosophy and psychology, 132 of 1,931 titles in the social sciences, and 118 of 1,227 titles in technology, medicine, and applied sciences. 

Overall, Bulgaria published 8,939 book titles and 1,328 pamphlet titles in 2025. Books had a circulation of 4.438 million copies, while pamphlets had a circulation of 874,000. The total number of books and pamphlets increased by 124 titles, or 1.2%, compared with 2024. 

Of the books published during the year, 7,889 were new titles and 1,050 were reprints. Among pamphlets, 1,211 were new titles and 117 were reprints. 

Adult fiction was the largest category by number of titles, with 2,743 publications and a circulation of 1.136 million copies. Bulgaria also published 2,663 scientific titles, 2,066 popular literature titles, and 1,325 educational publications.

Children’s and young adult literature accounted for 1,160 titles with a circulation of 913,000 copies. This included 723 works of children’s fiction, with a circulation of 528,000 copies.

Publishing activity remained concentrated in Sofia, where 6,527 titles were published. Plovdiv ranked second with 876 titles, followed by Varna with 519. 

The NSI compiles its annual publishing statistics using data from the St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library. The survey covers public and private publishers and editorial offices. Under the NSI methodology, a book is a non-periodical publication of at least 49 pages, while a pamphlet has between five and 48 pages. 

The figures come amid broader efforts to promote Bulgarian literature internationally.

As reported earlier, Bulgaria was the guest of honor at the 22nd Thessaloniki International Book Fair in May 2026, where it presented its literature under the slogan “Literature Beyond Borders.” Bulgaria’s Ministry of Culture and National Cultural Fund support around 40 translations of Bulgarian books into more than 20 languages each year.

Literary exchange between Bulgaria and Ukraine has also developed through the Ukrainian Book Institute’s Translate Ukraine program. As reported earlier, Bulgarian is among the three languages into which Ukrainian literature has most frequently been translated through the program. Over its first six years, 29 Ukrainian books were published in Bulgarian.

In 2025, Translate Ukraine selected 81 books by Ukrainian authors for translation into 25 languages across 28 countries. Among them, Maksym Kryvtsov’s poetry collection “Poetry from the Gunport” was selected for translation into Bulgarian, as well as Portuguese and French.

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