<p>(Edit) For <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime" rel="noreferrer">anime</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 2001, animation accounted for 7% of the Japanese film market, above the 4.6% market share for live-action works. The popularity and success of anime is seen through the profitability of the DVD market, contributing nearly 70% of total sales.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Also,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The anime market for the United States was worth approximately $2.74 billion in 2009.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In Japan in 2011, the DVD and Blu-Ray sales were approximately $250.6 million for DVD and $381.7 million for Blu-Ray (according to <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-21/anime-makes-up-57-percent-of-blu-ray-sales-in-japan-in-1st-half-of-2011" rel="noreferrer">here</a>).</p>
<p>From <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/23/national/to-survive-anime-must-adapt-but-not-too-much/#.UxzQoPldWQ4" rel="noreferrer">this</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In 2006, overseas sales of Japanese anime hit ¥16.8 billion but that has since plunged due to sluggish sales of DVDs — a direct result of pirated videos online and video-on-demand services. In 2011, global sales were a mere ¥8.55 billion. (¥16.8 billion=~$139 million, ¥8.55 billion=~$70 million)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Obviously, there are some discrepancies in these numbers, as the US market cannot be higher than the total overseas market. However, the US market number is likely accounting for television and possibly toys, while the overseas numbers are likely just sales.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.toonzone.net/forums/anime-forum/305386-jetro-north-american-anime-market-2012-report.html#.UxzM-vldWQ4" rel="noreferrer">This</a> gives the North American sales numbers.</p>
<p>Overall, it will be nearly impossible to determine the distribution. The Japanese numbers are the highest, but because much of anime is watched (often illegally) online, it is difficult to determine where people are watching from.</p>
<p>The manga market may be a good representation of the anime market distribution.</p>
<p>Japan has the biggest market for manga.</p>
<p>From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga_outside_Japan" rel="noreferrer">this</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga#International_markets" rel="noreferrer">this</a>:</p>
<p>In Europe, France used to consist of about 50% of the manga market, with 1/3 of the comic market in France being made up of manga (2003 numbers). In 2011, their percentage of the European manga market dropped to about 40%.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>According to the Japan External Trade Organization, sales of manga reached $212.6 million within France and Germany alone in 2006.</p>
<p>France represents about 50% of the European market and is the second worldwide market, behind Japan.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Germany's comic market is made up 70-75% of manga.</p>
<p>Manga is not very popular in Russia. In general, comics aren't very popular in Russia as a whole. The spread of anime has, however, helped to increase the popularity of manga.</p>
<p>In Thailand, there is manga, but it is primarily bootlegged.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga#International_markets" rel="noreferrer">this</a>,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>...by 2008, the U.S. and Canadian manga market generated $175 million in annual sales.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can also look at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manga_distributors#French" rel="noreferrer">list of manga distributors</a> to see a general range of number of distributors, though that doesn't give the amount of distribution in a country.</p>
<p>From <a href="http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/26/manga-in-the-heart-of-europe/" rel="noreferrer">this</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Annual manga sales in Japan are about $5 billion, he said, whereas American manga sales are $120 million and Europe and the Middle East combined make $250 million.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-09T19:26:53.110Z
Please note there is a slight difference in manga and anime. And i asked only about anime...
Hashirama Senju
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-09T21:09:50.087Z
@HashiramaSenju I added some information about anime, though it is nearly impossible to find because so much is television and online numbers. I hope it helps.
kuwaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-06T02:08:43.410Z
[This](https://www.jetro.go.jp/jfile/report/07001194/us_animation_comic.pdf) pdf is the original source for the numbers from 2002-2012, also contains information about what methods of distribution were most popular.
giraffesyo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-18T15:40:52.497Z
Why can't the US market be higher than the total overseas market?  The US pays more for everything, so it would stand to reason that if each disc or merchandise item costs more, the dollar amount would be higher.
YetAnotherRandomUser
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-09T18:02:16.610Z
2015-09-26T10:39:09.557Z
2020-06-17T09:17:53.303Z
kuwaly
<p>You know, I just got curious, and I guess the answer would be somewhere around Asia.</p>

<p>For example I know in Canada they watch anime but I'm also wondering about places like Mexico, Europe, Russia, and so on . . .
Do they watch anime like Bleach, Naruto, and more?
I've been wondering this for a long time . . . Is it popular there? Or does it depend?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-05T22:25:44.743Z
Fact is that it really fluctuates depending on the target audience. aka Shounen, seinen etc.
Dimitri mx
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-05T22:33:10.657Z
@Dimitrimx Let's refer only to the well known animes like Naruto and all the other that I writed above.
Hashirama Senju
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-05T22:34:44.717Z
K, ill write a answer when i have time holding naruto bleach and one piece as main animes ;)
Dimitri mx
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-06T02:44:52.870Z
Japan, perhaps?
xjshiya
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-06T11:03:00.520Z
Is this an opinion based question? Not sure if I should flag it or not?
Izumi-reiLuLu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-06T18:16:18.357Z
@MiharuDante I wouldn't really call it opinion based. More likely to broad. If you are doubting feel free to discuss it in meta ( as you are doing ) or discuss it with people in the [Chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/6697/maid-cafe-)
Dimitri mx
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-06T18:53:54.150Z
I don't think this is opinion-based or too broad. It's a statistics-based question. If you had the data yourself it would be pretty easy to answer well in a few paragraphs. The fact that I don't know of any comprehensive data to answer this question (and apparently neither do most users here) means that it's a hard question, but not that it's an overly broad one.
Logan M
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-09T15:12:05.337Z
The question is a bit ambiguous. Some people use the term 'anime' to refer to animated cartoons in general, while some use it to mean *Japanese* animated cartoons. Could you please clarify the meaning of 'anime' in your question?
user1551
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-09T17:39:50.790Z
@user1551 As I answer Dimitrimx, you can reffer the question to the most popular anime (which by the way is *not* a cartoon) like Naruto/One Piece/Bleach.
Hashirama Senju
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-10T02:17:15.390Z
Most likely Japan.
Izumi-reiLuLu
<anime-production>
Which countries watch the most anime?
# Which countries watch the most anime?
Posted by: username_0 on 2014-03-05
You know, I just got curious, and I guess the answer would be somewhere around Asia.

For example I know in Canada they watch anime but I'm also wondering about places like Mexico, Europe, Russia, and so on . . .
Do they watch anime like Bleach, Naruto, and more?
I've been wondering this for a long time . . . Is it popular there? Or does it depend?
**Tags:** anime-production
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Fact is that it really fluctuates depending on the target audience. aka Shounen, seinen etc.  
> **username_0**: @Dimitrimx Let's refer only to the well known animes like Naruto and all the other that I writed above.  
> **username_1**: K, ill write a answer when i have time holding naruto bleach and one piece as main animes ;)  
> **username_2**: Japan, perhaps?  
> **username_3**: Is this an opinion based question? Not sure if I should flag it or not?  
> **username_1**: @MiharuDante I wouldn't really call it opinion based. More likely to broad. If you are doubting feel free to discuss it in meta ( as you are doing ) or discuss it with people in the [Chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/6697/maid-cafe-)  
> **username_4**: I don't think this is opinion-based or too broad. It's a statistics-based question. If you had the data yourself it would be pretty easy to answer well in a few paragraphs. The fact that I don't know of any comprehensive data to answer this question (and apparently neither do most users here) means that it's a hard question, but not that it's an overly broad one.  
> **username_5**: The question is a bit ambiguous. Some people use the term 'anime' to refer to animated cartoons in general, while some use it to mean *Japanese* animated cartoons. Could you please clarify the meaning of 'anime' in your question?  
> **username_0**: @user1551 As I answer Dimitrimx, you can reffer the question to the most popular anime (which by the way is *not* a cartoon) like Naruto/One Piece/Bleach.  
> **username_3**: Most likely Japan.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_6 on 2014-03-09. Score: 10 | Accepted answer
(Edit) For [anime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime):

> In 2001, animation accounted for 7% of the Japanese film market, above the 4.6% market share for live-action works. The popularity and success of anime is seen through the profitability of the DVD market, contributing nearly 70% of total sales.

Also,

> The anime market for the United States was worth approximately $2.74 billion in 2009.

In Japan in 2011, the DVD and Blu-Ray sales were approximately $250.6 million for DVD and $381.7 million for Blu-Ray (according to [here](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-21/anime-makes-up-57-percent-of-blu-ray-sales-in-japan-in-1st-half-of-2011)).

From [this](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/23/national/to-survive-anime-must-adapt-but-not-too-much/#.UxzQoPldWQ4):

> In 2006, overseas sales of Japanese anime hit ¥16.8 billion but that has since plunged due to sluggish sales of DVDs — a direct result of pirated videos online and video-on-demand services. In 2011, global sales were a mere ¥8.55 billion. (¥16.8 billion=~$139 million, ¥8.55 billion=~$70 million)

Obviously, there are some discrepancies in these numbers, as the US market cannot be higher than the total overseas market. However, the US market number is likely accounting for television and possibly toys, while the overseas numbers are likely just sales.

[This](http://www.toonzone.net/forums/anime-forum/305386-jetro-north-american-anime-market-2012-report.html#.UxzM-vldWQ4) gives the North American sales numbers.

Overall, it will be nearly impossible to determine the distribution. The Japanese numbers are the highest, but because much of anime is watched (often illegally) online, it is difficult to determine where people are watching from.

The manga market may be a good representation of the anime market distribution.

Japan has the biggest market for manga.

From [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga_outside_Japan) and [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga#International_markets):

In Europe, France used to consist of about 50% of the manga market, with 1/3 of the comic market in France being made up of manga (2003 numbers). In 2011, their percentage of the European manga market dropped to about 40%.

> According to the Japan External Trade Organization, sales of manga reached $212.6 million within France and Germany alone in 2006.
>
> France represents about 50% of the European market and is the second worldwide market, behind Japan.

Germany's comic market is made up 70-75% of manga.

Manga is not very popular in Russia. In general, comics aren't very popular in Russia as a whole. The spread of anime has, however, helped to increase the popularity of manga.

In Thailand, there is manga, but it is primarily bootlegged.

According to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga#International_markets),

> ...by 2008, the U.S. and Canadian manga market generated $175 million in annual sales.

You can also look at the [list of manga distributors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manga_distributors#French) to see a general range of number of distributors, though that doesn't give the amount of distribution in a country.

From [this](http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/26/manga-in-the-heart-of-europe/):

> Annual manga sales in Japan are about $5 billion, he said, whereas American manga sales are $120 million and Europe and the Middle East combined make $250 million.
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2014-03-09): Please note there is a slight difference in manga and anime. And i asked only about anime...  
> **username_6** (2014-03-09): @HashiramaSenju I added some information about anime, though it is nearly impossible to find because so much is television and online numbers. I hope it helps.  
> **username_7** (2016-06-06): [This](https://www.jetro.go.jp/jfile/report/07001194/us_animation_comic.pdf) pdf is the original source for the numbers from 2002-2012, also contains information about what methods of distribution were most popular.  
> **username_8** (2018-11-18): Why can't the US market be higher than the total overseas market?  The US pays more for everything, so it would stand to reason that if each disc or merchandise item costs more, the dollar amount would be higher.  
---
