Scripture Distribution by Bible Societies
The number of Bibles distributed by Bible Societies was over 29 million during 2009, according to the Scripture Distribution Report, a three per cent increase on 2008 and continuing the upward trend of recent years. This was accompanied by a small reduction in the number of Testaments and Portions distributed and an increase in the number of Selections. In total, Bible Societies distributed an amazing 430 million Scripture items.
These numbers include
Scriptures sold through Bible Societies’ normal
trading operations, subsidised distribution and Scriptures distributed
for free through special projects.
The Bible Society of Brazil alone distributed a staggering
221 million items of Scripture, for example, and there were large overall
increases in total distribution in countries including the Philippines,
Honduras and Panama.
Following a Literacy Symposium held in 2009, literacy programs are a
particular area of development within UBS at present. The figures show
that nearly 64 million Portions and Selections designed specifically for
new readers were distributed, a substantial increase from 2008. Programs
in Argentina and India were significant contributors to this rise.
Bible Societies also distribute non-print Scriptures:
audio Scriptures, video material and electronic Scriptures for computer
usage. In 2009, Bible Societies
distributed 528,540 such items. This is currently small compared to traditional
printed items, but rose by 31 per cent from the previous year and is expected
to grow further in the coming years.
| Scripture Distribution Report 2009 | ||||||
| World Distribution of Scriptures by Bible Societies | ||||||
| January - December 2009 | ||||||
Bibles
|
Testaments
|
Portions
|
New
Reader
|
Selections
|
New
Reader
|
|
Portions
|
Selections
|
|||||
| Africa | 5,144,755
|
436,268
|
810,371
|
46,514
|
4,535,208
|
87,212
|
| Americas | 12,133,950
|
2,797,084
|
5,345,443
|
3,060,941
|
258,921,645
|
53,460,095
|
| Asia-Pacific | 9,976,994
|
6,978,178
|
7,208,093
|
3,912,460
|
46,831,034
|
3,635,897
|
| Europe-Middle East | 2,135,577
|
982,082
|
1,716,376
|
320,661
|
582,483
|
83,918
|
| Totals (Jan - Dec 2009) | 29,391,276
|
11,193,612
|
15,080,283
|
7,340,576
|
310,870,370
|
57,267,122
|
Global Total 2008 - 381,354,308
Global Total 2007 - 391,142,319
Global
Total 2006 -
393,177,157
Global Total 2005 -
372,585,792
Global Total 2004 -
390,544,073
Global Total 2003 - 431,741,291
Global Total 2002 - 578,029,863
Global Total 2001 - 555,555,451
Global Total 2000 - 633,335,638
