The importance and visibility of traditional media is often overlooked. This map visualises the world’s 100 largest newspapers as well as the number of physical papers printed daily in each country.

Data

This map combines two data sources. First, it draws on 2005 data from the World Bank detailing the number of daily newspapers printed per 1000 people in each country (i.e. total printed copies rather than the diversity of newspapers). The World Bank defines a daily newspaper as a paper that is published at least four times a week. Second, the map uses data from Newspapers24.com in order to visualise the main offices of the world’s 100 largest print newspapers. Statistics were aggregated in cases where cities shared multiple entries.

Findings

The world’s wealthiest countries tend to have more per capita printed newspapers than the rest of the world. Scandinavia and Japan in particular stand out for having more daily newspaper printed (per person) than anywhere else on Earth. The locations of the world’s 100 largest papers, in contrast, reveal some surprising patterns. The five largest papers by circulation are all in Japan. Indeed, a majority of newspapers on the list are in Asia: a fact that could be partially explained by the large number of mega-cities on that continent.

Visualization and analysis by Dr Mark Graham, Scott A. Hale and Monica Stephens in collaboration with Dr Corinne M. Flick and the Convoco Foundation.

This map is taken from the following publication: “Graham, M., Hale, S. A. and Stephens, M. (2011) Geographies of the World’s Knowledge. London, Convoco! Edition.”