Bible Sales Surge Dramatically in Sweden

After several years of weak growth, Christian publishers and bookstores in Sweden have experienced an unexpected upswing. When 2025 is summed up, indications are pointing to a record year—driven by a sharply increased demand for the Bible.

This trend is clearly visible within the book industry. Publisher Libris, one of Sweden’s largest Christian publishers, increased its sales of Bibles by about 275 percent last year. Where they previously sold around 4,000 copies per year, the figure for 2025 landed at about 11,000.

According to publishing director Johan Ericson, it is mainly younger people who are behind the upswing. When the publisher attends conferences and events, it is often youth who stop by the book tables and purchase a Bible.

“We often have book tables at conferences and similar events, and it’s primarily young people who buy the Bible from us,” says Johan Ericson, according to the newspaper Dagen.

Other players in the industry are seeing the same trend. Publisher Verbum reports that both Bibles and hymnbooks have sold in significantly larger editions in recent years.

Annika Waldenström is CEO of Verbum and she links the increase to two factors: more young people choosing to be confirmed and a demographic trend where cohorts of 15-year-olds have been unusually large.

“The church sees that more young people are actively choosing to be confirmed. At the same time, the number of 15-year-olds in Sweden has been higher than usual over the past five years, so I believe that both demography and new interest together are what we are seeing in the congregations,” says Annika Waldenström.

At the same time, reports say that the trend is not only visible in the churches. Staff in Christian bookstores also say that new customer groups have started visiting the stores. These are often people seeking recommendations and looking for advice on where to start. According to the staff, this is a marked change compared to just three years ago.