Indonesia may not be on your map of the publishing world, but it's certainly a market to watch. The Republic of Indonesia is the world's third-largest democracy (after the USA and India), with about population over 240 million and spread over an archipelago of some 17,500 islands. Moreover, it is  currently the world's 20th-largest economy and growing fast. Predictions by Goldman Sachs suggest Indonesia will be the world's 11th largest economy by 2050, behind only China, Japan and India in Asia. Indonesia must be has a huge and extremely fragmented book market.

In general, many of the participants stressed the importance of children’s book publishing: as 25% of Indonesia’s population are school-aged children. Category children’s books are a significant and growing market also fiction & literature, religion, textbooks and Religious (Islamic) books account for at least 30% of the market. Print books will remain significant in Indonesia, particularly in early education.


This sentiment was echoed by IKAPI (The Indonesian Publishers Association), which said that as eager as publishers are to expand into digital publishing, it is important to start small and develop expertise to offer the best possible products.

1,317 publishers registered with IKAPI.Of these, about 1,200 are considered active publishers. However, the National Library Deposit Statistic mentions 3,227 publishers. Most publishers are private, but there are also a few state -owned groups.Most publishers are trade publishers. There are at least 100 specialised publishers.


Kestity Pringgoharjono, Executive Director of the Lontar Foundation says;

Today there are more than 1,000 book publishers in Indonesia—largely concentrated on Java—and around 50% of the books published are translated from other languages.

Turnover of book publishing in Indonesia grew by six per cent each year from 2007 to 2012. The sector’s growth has beenstimulated by Indonesia’s broader economic growth, the rapidly expanding middle class, and the increasing importance of education. There is significant correlation
between the nominal GDP growth and the household expenditure on books.

Whatever condition the present Indonesian book publishing is in, it is the result of a collective effort of Indonesian society as a whole. Its success or failure is an indicator of the intellectual and the socio-economic development of the Indonesian people. To develop it, synergistic efforts of all parties concerned are badly needed.

Typically 4,000 to 5,000 copies around 10%-20% sell between 10,000 to 100,000 copies; some titles have achieved exceptional sales,such asAndrea Hirata’Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops) which is estimated to have sold about three milions.

As a personal book shopper I found that many Indonesian people still have big interest in book even smartphone penetration and mobile services growth are booming in Indonesia. Using social media Instagram I could reach lot of people from different island and help them get the book that they want. Currently, I specialized in imported book personal shopper due to limited access to get the translation one. Besides, imported book is limited on greater Java and Bali island.

Taken from significant correlation between the nominal GDP growth and the household expenditure on books, I also found that the rising of US dollar's value also have greater impact in books buying especially in imported book and also book importer. I really hoping that government could stabilize our currency so that we could have more book to be read.

Source :
http://publishingperspectives.com/2013/10/indonesias-sea-of-opportunities/
http://www.buchmesse.de/images/fbm/dokumente-ua-pdfs/2015/book_market_indonesia_52246.pdf
http://www.accu.or.jp/appreb/report/abd/abd3033.html
http://beyondhall8.blogspot.com/2008/08/indonesia-may-not-be-on-your-map-of.html