Printed books, brochures and leaflets market in Europe: size, suppliers and public contracts

Market size and key facts

In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 1,858 supply contracts for printed books, brochures and leaflets through award notices on TED; the 817 of them that state a value (44%) add up to €273 million, a floor rather than the full contract value. EU countries together imported €6.04 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to printed books, brochures and leaflets in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 4901; sum of national imports, trade between EU countries included; all buyers, not only public ones), down 5.5% from 2023.

  • Since November 2023, 1,393 companies have won 5,393 public supply contracts for printed books, brochures and leaflets in 30 European countries, in 1,996 award notices from 1,239 public buyers.
  • 3.2% of these awards went to a company registered in a different country from the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is United Kingdom.
  • The five companies that win most often hold 7.7% of all awards across Europe.
  • 21% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.

In proportion

All public purchasing in the EU-27 — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €2.93 trillion in 2025, 15.5% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.

Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.

Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)

How to cite: Cresques, "Printed books, brochures and leaflets market in Europe", https://cresques.com/markets/europe/221-printed-books-brochures-and-leaflets, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

CPV group 221 across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: how much public buyers award, who wins, where from, and how the market splits by country.

The market in numbers

Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.

Contracts awarded
5.4K
in 2K award notices
Awarded value
€700M
from 49% of awards with a published value
Winning companies
1.4K
with at least one award
Public buyers
1.2K
hospitals, cities, agencies
Contracts awarded by year
Contracts awarded by yearNov–Dec 2023: 3737Nov–Dec 20232024: 1,5631,56320242025: 1,8581,85820252026: 1,9351,9352026
Table view
Contracts awarded by year
Nov–Dec 202337
20241,563
20251,858
20261,935
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Awarded value by year (EUR)Nov–Dec 2023: €9M€9MNov–Dec 20232024: €185.3M€185.3M20242025: €273.4M€273.4M20252026: €232.3M€232.3M2026
Table view
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Nov–Dec 2023€9M
2024€185.3M
2025€273.4M
2026€232.3M
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
  1. Cities, regions and central administration: 2,997
  2. Universities, schools and research: 1,940
  3. Culture, sport and religion: 137
  4. Hospitals and health services: 135
  5. Armed forces and defence agencies: 78
  6. Social protection: 26
  7. Economic affairs: 25
  8. Police, fire services and prisons: 19
  9. Other36
    Other: 36
Table view
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
Cities, regions and central administration2,997
Universities, schools and research1,940
Culture, sport and religion137
Hospitals and health services135
Armed forces and defence agencies78
Social protection26
Economic affairs25
Police, fire services and prisons19
Other36
Contracts by buyer country
  1. France1,595
    421 companies
    France: 1,595
  2. 88 companies
    Romania: 680
  3. 230 companies
    Germany: 655
  4. 133 companies
    Ireland: 511
  5. 31 companies
    Bulgaria: 480
  6. 172 companies
    Spain: 392
  7. 51 companies
    Belgium: 162
  8. 42 companies
    Netherlands: 143
  9. 42 companies
    Sweden: 100
  10. Italy78
    17 companies
    Italy: 78
Table view
Contracts by buyer country
France1,595
Romania680
Germany655
Ireland511
Bulgaria480
Spain392
Belgium162
Netherlands143
Sweden100
Italy78
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice: Large companies 15.5%, Medium-sized 14%, Small 17.4%, Micro 8.2%, SME (size not stated) 27.8%, Size not stated 17.1%Large companies: 836 (15.5%)16%Medium-sized: 757 (14%)14%Small: 937 (17.4%)17%Micro: 441 (8.2%)SME (size not stated): 1,499 (27.8%)28%Size not stated: 923 (17.1%)17%
  • Large companies
  • Medium-sized
  • Small
  • Micro
  • SME (size not stated)
  • Size not stated
Table view
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Large companies836 · 15.5%
Medium-sized757 · 14%
Small937 · 17.4%
Micro441 · 8.2%
SME (size not stated)1,499 · 27.8%
Size not stated923 · 17.1%
Foreign winners: where they are registered
  1. United Kingdom47
    United Kingdom: 47
  2. Germany27
    Germany: 27
  3. Netherlands27
    Netherlands: 27
  4. Czechia16
    Czechia: 16
  5. Italy10
    Italy: 10
  6. Denmark10
    Denmark: 10
Table view
Foreign winners: where they are registered
United Kingdom47
Germany27
Netherlands27
Czechia16
Italy10
Denmark10
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)2023: €6.4B€6.4B20232024: €6.2B€6.2B20242025: €6B€6B2025
Table view
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)
2023€6.4B
2024€6.2B
2025€6B

Imports: Eurostat Comext, customs headings 4901 (only headings whose trade is mainly this category); all buyers, not only public ones.

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country

96.8%

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country: 96.8%

170 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.

Share of the 5 biggest winners

7.7%

Share of the 5 biggest winners: 7.7%

Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.

Lots with a single bid

21%

Lots with a single bid: 21%

Among 4.8K awards whose notice states the number of tenders.

How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.

Companies winning most often across Europe

  1. 1.КЛЕТ БЪЛГАРИЯ ООДBulgaria · 96 notices
  2. 2.ПРОСВЕТА-СОФИЯ АДBulgaria · 93 notices
  3. 3.С.А.Н.-ПРО ЕООДBulgaria · 51 notices
  4. 4.VanDijk B.V.Netherlands · 48 notices
  5. 5.АРХИМЕД 2 ЕООДBulgaria · 46 notices
  6. 6.KE AJAKIRJANDUSE OSAÜHINGEstonia · 44 notices
  7. 7.БГ УЧЕБНИК ЕООДBulgaria · 44 notices
  8. 8.ДОМИНО ЕООДBulgaria · 41 notices
  9. 9.Pearlshield Ltd T/A Coughlans BookshopIreland · 40 notices
  10. 10.ЮНИВЪРС ЕООДBulgaria · 34 notices

Companies with a public page whose main category is this group, by award notices; a market map in Cresques covers one country and, on paid plans, lists every winner there.

Country pages

Countries with fewer than 25 winning companies in this group have no separate page; their awards are counted above.

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After sign-in the new-market form opens with Printed books, brochures and leaflets filled in; you choose the country.

Questions

How big is the printed books, brochures and leaflets market in Europe?
In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 1,858 supply contracts for printed books, brochures and leaflets through award notices on TED; the 817 of them that state a value (44%) add up to €273 million, a floor rather than the full contract value. EU countries together imported €6.04 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to printed books, brochures and leaflets in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 4901; sum of national imports, trade between EU countries included; all buyers, not only public ones), down 5.5% from 2023.
How many public contracts for printed books, brochures and leaflets are awarded in Europe?
Since November 2023 public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 5,393 supply contracts for printed books, brochures and leaflets in 1,996 TED award notices; the 2,640 awards with a published value add up to €700M.
Which countries buy the most printed books, brochures and leaflets through public tenders?
France (1,595 awards), Romania (680 awards), Germany (655 awards) lead; 1,393 companies won at least one award across Europe.
How often do foreign suppliers win printed books, brochures and leaflets contracts?
3.2% of the awards went to a company registered in another country than the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is United Kingdom.

Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.