wfn.org | 1996 Figures Show the Bible Is Still Number One

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

2-April-1997 
97142 
 
                  1996 Publication Figures Show  
                  the Bible Is Still Number One  
 
                         by Edmund Doogue 
                  Ecumenical News International 
 
GENEVA--More copies of the Bible are still being printed than any other 
book, according to United Bible Societies (UBS), based in Reading, England. 
 
     According to the UBS's report on Bible distribution in 1996, the 124 
national Bible societies around the world distributed 530,659,106 Bibles, 
New Testaments and excerpts. 
 
     Although that figure was smaller than that for 1995, UBS said that the 
1996 distribution -- 19.4 million copies -- of the complete Bible was a new 
record and an increase of  9.1 percent over 1995. 
 
     The significant increase in distribution of the complete Bible is 
largely the result of mass publication in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific 
region.  Amity Press in Nanjing, China, which began operations in 1987, 
recently printed its 15 millionth copy of the Bible. In 1996 three million 
copies of the Bible were distributed by churches in China.  
 
     After China, the two countries with the highest numbers of Bible 
distribution were the United States and Brazil. Bible distribution for the 
Americas was up by 19 percent in 1996 (compared to 1995), and in the Asia 
Pacific region distribution increased by 11.6 percent. 
 
     A huge increase -- 72.4 percent -- in distribution of the New 
Testament in the Europe-Middle East region in 1996 was due in part to 
figures from Denmark, where the Danish Bible Society distributed more than 
a half-million copies to a total of 98 percent of  households in Copenhagen 
during 10 days in September to mark the city's role as 1996 European 
Cultural Capital. 
 
     John Ball, publishing services coordinator at UBS, said this week, 
"The sheer size of some of these totals, sometimes representing 
breathtaking growth in distribution in particular parts of the world, 
leaves the reader with a sense of gratitude to God for what has been done. 
But they can also disguise reality. There is still much more to be done if 
we are to provide everyone with easier access to the Scriptures, whether as 
a printed item or CD-ROM or as an audio- or videotape, in a way that best 
suits their needs." 

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