A few days ago, I came across an interesting write-up on the top 50 publishers across the world. The list, compiled by Rudiger Wischenbart, provides great insight on how the world’s biggest publishers performed in FY09.

All charts are based on aforementioned list.

Top 50 publishers: Which region are they from?

Europe dominates the list with more than half of the publishers from the region.

Asia is an emerging publishing market. However, the possibility of more publishers from the region featuring in the list seems unlikely.

Top 50 publishers: Where are they from?

In terms of countries, most of the publishers are from the US, Germany and Japan.

Publishers from the US have witnessed a change in position on the list. This has been attributed to the weak economy and the overall recessive mood of the industry. This environment has impacted revenues (below).

Top 50 publishers: What of their revenues?

Considering what the publishing industry has been through over the last two years, some publishers have experienced a negative revenue growth. However, majority (57%) of the publishers in the top 50 have experienced revenue growth.

Publishers that have experienced negative revenue growth are mostly from (and not surprisingly) the US.

Publishers that have experienced decreased revenues in 2009 are all from developed markets. (There is only one company from China in the top 50 list).

No one publishing segment has been featured in this list – all companies featured in this list have been operating across multiple segments. The year ahead will feature recovery more than growth as the current economic climate is not expected to improve anytime soon. Will there be a major shift in where each company lies? Unlikely…