India Still Has a Resilient Magazine Industry

While the print industry is declining in many countries, India remains an exception, with a strong readership base and a culture of buying physical papers and magazines. Data from a recent Statista survey found that more than one in four (27 percent) online respondents in India had paid for a print magazine in the past year, with a similar share (26 percent) having purchased digital magazine content. For print magazines, this is the highest proportion of any of the countries surveyed.

According to Shantanu David at The Current, the reasons for this trend are both cultural and economic. Subscription costs tend to be affordable in India, he writes, due to the industry being predominantly supported by advertising, with newspapers earning between 80 to 85 percent of their income in this way, unlike more “digitally mature markets” such as the United States. While regional papers are growing amid rising literacy rates and improving digital penetration, David adds that a shift toward digital platforms may well appeal more to future generations.

As the following chart shows, print magazines were more popular in Germany and the Netherlands than digital versions. In both countries, Gen Z and Millennials were more likely than Gen X or Baby Boomer respondents to have paid for digital magazine content.

In Brazil, meanwhile, nearly 25 percent of respondents had paid for online magazines, compared to just 7 percent for print. In China, it's a similar story, with 25 percent having paid for online magazines. However, print remained popular there too, with 19 percent of respondents having bought a print magazine in the past year. Possible reasons for online migration include the widespread adoption of digital technology, the increasing penetration of internet access as well as the convenience of digital platforms.

In the United States and United Kingdom, print magazines still outperform online alternatives, albeit barely. Looking at other print media, 13 percent of respondents in the U.S. paid for daily newspapers last year and 12 percent paid for weekly newspapers. In the UK, 18 percent had paid for daily newspapers, compared to 13 percent for weeklies.

According to the Alliance for Audited Media, the U.S. magazines with the largest overall circulations between July and December 2024 were AARP The Magazine (22.2 M), AARP Bulletin (22.1 M), Costco Connection (15.3 M), Better Homes and Gardens (3 M), Southern Living (2.8 M) and People (2.5 M).