By Urantia Foundation staff, Illinois, United States
We are often asked, “How many people are reading The Urantia Book?” Estimates abound, but it truly is impossible to know. Not everyone contacts publishers to inform them of their purchases and reading habits. Based on yearly sales, one can surmise that few actually do make contact. Plus, single individuals buy multiple books; organizations buy them in bulk; some books remain unopened on bookshelves. But one thing we can know for certain is how many books Urantia Foundation has printed and distributed.
Since 1955, with the first run of 10,000 copies, the English edition has been printed 29 times for a total of 479,404 hardcover, paperback, leather, and LeatherSoft books. French was the first translation, La Cosmogonie d’Urantia, and was published in three volumes by Jacques Weiss in 1961. Urantia Foundation took over the publication in 1981 and renamed the book Le Livre d’Urantia. It is the third most printed book (Spanish is second), with 62,796 copies.
Spanish and Finnish translations followed in 1993. El libro de Urantia continues to be a bestseller throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and to date, we have printed 182,924 copies. In addition, the electronic Spanish translation is the most downloaded book with over 215,000 copies. The Finnish Urantia-kirja has served a much smaller demographic, and the initial run of 10,000 copies has lasted for almost 30 years.
As the following charts illustrate, 15 languages have been printed since the Urantia Book project began. This makes a total of 839,300 physical books in circulation throughout the world.
Since the earliest days of translating and printing, websites have become ubiquitous and easily accessible to most readers. The decision to print a physical book is not made lightly. There are factors to consider, such as the estimated number of readers in a certain language, the availability of book distributors, and the overall cost/benefit ratio of printing vs. e-books and downloads.
There are currently 11 translations only available online. When the readership reaches the tipping point in these languages, it will be easier to justify investing the many thousands of dollars it requires to print, ship, and distribute physical books.
The Chinese and Filipino teams are working diligently on their translations to bring The Urantia Book to their language groups. These two translations alone have the potential to reach more than two billion people.
Urantia Foundation’s book printing and translation programs are 100% funded by generous donations from the readership. On behalf of the entire team, we thank you for your continued support in furthering the mission of seeding The Urantia Book and its teachings globally.
English Urantia Books printed 1955-1922
Urantia Book translations printed 1955-1922