Best & Worst Countries for Book Lovers

Using data from the Online Computer Learning Center Inc. and the World Bank, iSchool@Syracuse ranks the 20 best and worst countries for book lovers measured by the most and fewest libraries per 100,000 residents.

Most Libraries Per 100,000 residents.

  • Slovakia: 138.144
  • Palau: 112.723
  • Finland: 110.397
  • Belarus: 106.559
  • Latvia: 95.732
  • Czech Republic: 91.411
  • Ukraine: 86.185
  • Armenia: 83.2087
  • Moldova: 80.526
  • Russia: 78.7249
  • Maldives: 76.009
  • San Marino: 75.517
  • Greenland: 74.848
  • Jordan: 74.356
  • Albania: 72.0277
  • Norway: 71.113
  • Estonia: 70.275
  • Iceland: 66.198
  • Bhutan: 65.177
  • Sweden: 64.497

Fewest Libraries Per 100,000 Residents

  • Somalia: 0.0185
  • Yemen: 0.0224
  • Niger: 0.0402
  • North Korea: 0.0716
  • Central African Republic: 0.0816
  • Bangladesh: 0.0826
  • Nigeria: 0.105
  • Kosovo: 0.111
  • Congo: 0.118
  • Uganda: 0.120
  • Turkmenistan: 0.149
  • Burundi: 0.152
  • Rwanda: 0.155
  • Djibouti: 0.225
  • Angola: 0.236
  • Comoros: 0.254
  • Macao: 0.340
  • Senegal: 0.357
  • Chad: 0.363
  • Tanzania: 0.372

The United States ranks 62nd on this list with 30.35 libraries per 100,000 residents.

Data Courtesy of The Online Computer Library Center Inc. and The World Bank”

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