The report "Swedish Book Trade 2025" from the Booksellers' Association, prepared by book trade economist Leif Olsson, shows this. Despite the negative development, he is not entirely pessimistic. In 2024, the number of bookstores increased for the first time in fifteen years, albeit only by one store, but according to Leif Olsson, there are still "indications" that the negative trend has stopped.
I hope we've reached the bottom, but it's perhaps mostly a hope, he says to TT.
Leif Olsson also tries to identify municipalities where the population base is large enough, in his view, to support a newly established bookstore. Examples of such municipalities are Sjöbo, Heby, Surahammar, and Nordmaling.
Karlsborg in Västergötland is currently the smallest Swedish municipality with its own bookstore.
