Scholars can debate endlessly overwhich book is the " full " of all time , but finding out which one have enjoyed the mostcommercial successshould be a more concrete attempt . We can just look at the sales turn and rank them for a current lean . Unfortunately , this turns out to be quite a challenge itself .
There is no central repository or current list for entire sales numbers racket forbooks . Publishers may not share gross revenue numbers racket for single books , or their reported numbers may be inaccurate . It gets even more complicated when you consider that pop Quran often are released in multiple editions , sometimes by all dissimilar publishers . Older works that are in thepublic domainmay be published at the same time by several different companies . The fact is , any universal sales figures for a book more than a few twelvemonth old are likely an educate guess at easily .
These matter are compounded when you view spiritual texts like the Bible , the Quran or the Book of Mormon . Not only are sales numbers insufferable to verify , but these type of books are often give out to followers or handed out in public berth . compare their sales numbers to the works ofCharles Dickensor J.K. Rowling is like compare apples to oranges . Therefore , these books , along with " Quotations from Mao Zedong , " for object lesson , have been leave out from this list .
With these caveat in mind , here is a current list of the 22 best - sell book of all time , as far as we can tell .
1: “Xinhua Zidian” - 567 million
It may not be too surprising to see areference bookat the top of this lean of all - time best - selling playscript , but did you recognize " Xinhua Zidian , " aChinese - speech lexicon , is in all likelihood the best - selling one of the bunch ? " Xinhua Zidian " was first published in 1953 and became the standard dictionary among Chinese schoolchildren . Its widespread usage in themost thickly settled nationin the world ( 1.4 billion people as of 2022 ) gives this book a unique spot on our list . For the first time , " Xinhua Zidian " has overtaken “ Don Quixote ” for the top touch . In 2016 ( the latest year in which data point is available ) , Guinness World Records heralded " Xinhua Zidian " for globally selling567 million copiesduring its life-time .
2: “Don Quixote de la Mancha” - 500 million
Miguel de Cervantes’novelabout a human beings who becomes so infatuate with story ofknightsthat he resolve to become one is believe to serve as the basis for modern novels . Originallypublished in two partsin 1605 and 1615 , Quixote ’s misadventures as he travels across the Spanish countryside seek wrongs to right and downtrodden citizenry to uplift have amused and enthralled generations of reader and made good trafficker tilt for years . The book also gave us the idiom " tilting at windmills " to betoken a stately but vain endeavor .
While the novel enjoys surges in popularity now and then , especially in Spain , the sales number is still an train guessing . Truth is , " Don Quixote " is the quondam book on this list and it has had a recollective time to fall sales . We do n’t have a sentence machine or a way to tally sale from the 1600s , but several informant suggest that " Don Quixote " hassold 500 million copies . We ’ve placed it as the No . 2 best - selling book of all meter because of its worldwide popularity over an telling duad of clip and its estimated total sales number .
3: “A Tale of Two Cities” - 200 million
First release in 1859 , thisnovelbyCharles Dickens , one of the most popular authors of all prison term , examines the class conflict that led to the French Revolution , and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes the revolutionaries are worse than the establishment : " It was the best of times ; it was the worst of times . "
Because " A Tale of Two Cities " is in thepublic domainand has been publish in legion editions by hundreds of publishers over the last 150 years , it ’s impossible to check the exact number of copies sell . The number 200 million is a bit controversial , in that there ’s not an identifiable individual rootage for the data . However , considering that " A Tale of Two Cities " is one of Dickens ' best books and is regularly on the required reading lists of educatee in the U.S. and elsewhere , it ’s entirely fitting that it should occur in at No . 3 on our list .
4: “The Lord of the Rings” - 150 million
This gamy - stake fantasy trilogy roleplay a big character on this list . " The Lord of the Rings " by J.R.R. Tolkien is conceive to have established the modern fantasy genre , and it embodies a classic taradiddle of good versus evil , and the lengths to which supporter will go for each other .
Tolkien ’s original newspaper publisher divided his lengthy500,000 - word manuscriptinto three parts that were first published in 1954 and 1955 , boast character Frodo Baggins ' epic journey across Middle Earth . The books includedmaps of verdant hillsides and stony dragon lairsoriginally drawn by Tolkien ’s boy Christopher . The escapist narrative remain popular today and are often sold together in extravagantly ornament boxed sets .
5: “The Little Prince” - 140 million
" The Little Prince , " by Antoine de Saint - Exupéry , is a charming novella about a unfrequented unseasoned prince who tour a miscellanea of planets , including Earth , from his home on a tinyasteroid . The book ’s thematic exploration of loss and connection has vibrate with readers all over the world , pee-pee it one of the most abiding publications on this tilt . " The Little Prince " was originally published in both English and French in 1943 , and has become beloved because of its lesson for all ages , despite being save for children . There aremonumentsto " The Little Prince " worldwide , and astronomers evennamed an real asteroidfor the one the prince dwell in the chronicle .
source name lifetime book sales of " The Little Prince " between 140 million and 142 million , making thisbookNo . 5 on our list .
6: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” - 120 million
" Harry Potter and the Sorcerer ’s Stone , " is thefirst volumein repeated New York Times bestseller J.K. Rowling’sblockbuster seriesabout unseasoned necromancer living in a witching innovative world of dreary secrets , as the escapade start out in the Harry Potter series . The novel ’s ability to immerse the reader in this introduction to Harry , who , on his 11th birthday , learns he is a wizard , has been enthralling readers ever since the Quran was first published in 1997 .
estimate sales get along in at a solid120 million copy soldof this series debut , making it No . 6 on our listing and the first to benefit frommodernsales tracking method .
7: “And Then There Were None” - 100 million
" And Then There Were None " is thebest - selling bookby British enigma legend Agatha Christie . The book , first printed in 1939 , details the ugly the true of a series of execution on an island in which eachdeathcoincides with a line from an old greenhouse verse , with the ostensibly impossible offense explained in Christie ’s ingenious epilogue .
The sales event number is an estimation : Since 2017 , Christie has been finding success as a Guinness World Record holder as themost - translated author , with 7,236 translation derive from her written works , including interlingual rendition of " And Then There Were None , " Christie’sbest - sell book . With at least 100 million in gauge copies sold of " And Then There were None , " Christie use up the No . 7 spot on our list .
8: “Dream of the Red Chamber” - 100 million
The Chinese novel " Dream of the Red Chamber " is a semi - autobiographical work that chronicles the rise and crepuscle of a family during the Qing dynasty and was first published in 1791 by author Cao Xueqin . It ’s considered one of the four great classic novels of Taiwanese literature and has been finding success , with an intact field of literary study devote to it .
" Dream of the Red Chamber " is revered for its delineation of classic Formosan culture of the era in which it was written and remain popular even today , with newfangled theory and estimate continually rekindling pastime about the novel ’s depicting of 400 type , many of them woman . The novel is wide consider to be one of the first to offer a window into women ’s lives within Chinese lodge in the 18th 100 . The novel ’s lifetime sales are estimated at 100 million , a build consider by many to be on the low side , take the Holy Scripture ’s sustained place in the literary canyon .
9: “The Hobbit” - 100 million
A prequel to the popular " Lord of the Rings " trilogy , " The Hobbit " by J.R.R. Tolkien was published in 1937 . It pock the first meter readers the world over learned aboutBilbo Baggins , a member of the Hobbit race of diminutive anthropomorphous hoi polloi , who attempt an heroic journeying to regain steal treasure guard by a horrendous dragon . Along the path , Baggins fishes a magical doughnut from a stream that brings its own readiness of benefits and dangers to the storey , play up the complexity of trustworthiness and friendship .
" The Hobbit , " one of Tolkien ’s best books , has sold at least100 million copiesand kicked off the widely read " Lord of the Rings " franchise .
10: “Think and Grow Rich” - 100 million
In " Think and Grow Rich , " Hill distil his convention into a philosophic system for winner that has carry on to resonate with people shin to get by . It stayed on good - seller inclination for many years , and spawned an entire diligence of books about how to be a more deliberately successful person .
11: “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” - 85 million
C.S. Lewis bring out thisreligious - themed fantasyas hardback fiction in 1950 . Intended as a children ’s Word , “ The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe ” is go under during World War II and is a classical deterrent example of a " wizard room access " account , in which the escapade begin when a gate between the normal world and a magical one is discovered . This formula would , of course , be used to with child success years later by J.K. Rowling .
Lewis ' young protagonists travel to a realm called Narnia during World War II , where they find all manner of anthropomorphized animate being , fantastic mass and a godly Leo the Lion . This book led to an entire series of Narnia novels . Like closely every rule book on this leaning that is n’t a dictionary , it was also made into a film .
12: “The Da Vinci Code” - 80 million
Dan Brown ’s 2003 mysterynovel , " The Da Vinci Code , " about aconspiracyhiding the frightful truth of the dark secrets of the Catholic Church , was no doubt boosted in popularity when the Catholic Church decried it ( and the inevitable photographic film , star Tom Hanks , which was let go in 2006 ) .
Not only does " The Da Vinci Code " show that whodunit novel are capable of guard their own against the fantasy record book on this tilt , but Brown ’s book spark renewed ethnical interest group in the dim underpinnings of the historical dark secrets of well - known organizations . His subsequent Scripture , " The Lost symbolisation , " let go in 2006,broke one - solar day sales recordsat the time . " The Da Vinci Code " remains Brown ’s substantially - selling Word so far , with more than 80 million copies sell .
13: “The Alchemist” - 80 million
" The Alchemist , " Paulo Coelho ’s mystical storey of Santiago , an Andalusian shepherd male child , comes in at No . 13 on our lean . Written in Portuguese in 1986 , and then translated into English in 1993 , " The Alchemist " is touted as an allegorical masterpiece about a young sheepman who search his destiny in the desert .
Several sources indicate " The Alchemist " has sold80 million copiesworldwide .
14: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” - 77 million
Thesecond bookin the Harry Potter series , " Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets " was released in 1998 , and uncovers more of the whodunit of the wizarding schoolhouse Hogwarts , the further adventures of harry and his booster , and the series ' endure villain , Voldemort . In this Good Book , the escapade begin when Potter receives a mysterious substance that his life will be in danger if he returns to Hogwarts , but return he must . Hogwarts , and his friends there , are what keep Potter going as he endures ostensibly endless grind with the Dursleys each summer .
While it ’s hard to say why some books in the perennial New York Times best seller Harry Potter serial sell more or less than others — there ’s not a large bed cover among the book — accord to fans of the pop series , there ’s not a unsound book in the crew .
15: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” - 65 million
" Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince " may have been thesixth bookin the seven - book of account Harry Potter serial , but it place as the third best - sell book in the series ( all seven make this list ) . This book is notable for detailing the puerility of primary scoundrel Voldemort , and for an infamousdeathscene that offend many sports fan with its dark good turn of events . Not only has " Harry Potter and the Half - Blood Prince " betray jillion of copies , it sell them incredibly quickly — 9 million copy sold within 24 hours of its tone ending in 2005 .
16: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” - 65 million
Thefourth bookin the serial , " Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire " ( 2000 ) , centers on the Tri - Wizard tournament , a supposedly favorable rival between representative of the Hogwarts School ofWitchcraftand Wizardry and two rival schools . This al-Qur’an features Harry ’s first expression - to - typeface merging with a newly material Voldemort . With all seven book in the Harry Potter serial making this lean , the all - time best - marketer skew heavily toward fantasy because the genre accounts for one - third of the tilt .
17: “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” - 65 million
" Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released in 2003 and is thefifth bookin the series . This installation introduces a secret order dedicated to resisting Voldemort ’s growing great power . Whether this Holy Scripture , " Goblet of Fire , " or " Prisoner of Azkaban " has trade more full copies is anyone ’s shot , and is in all probability orthogonal . The serial publication ' combined royalties blend toward making publishing phenomenon J.K. Rowling one of the richestwomenin the earthly concern , with a net worth estimated at$1 billion .
18: “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” - 65 million
Thethird bookof the Harry Potter serial , " Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , " was bring out in 1999 . In this Quran , Harry and his friends have further risky venture — and heap of misadventures — involvingwerewolvesandtime travelat Hogwarts . Along the agency in this third book , readers learn more about Harry ’s parent , James and Lily , who died protect him .
19: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” - 65 million
Thefinal , 7th bookin the Harry Potter popular serial was released in 2007 and had sold 44 million copies just one year after — and that ’s before the paperback version of the 7th Holy Scripture of the New York Times bestseller had even come out . Now , " Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows , " the seventh book in the series , is in keeping with the rest of the popular series , each installation of which is around the $ 65 million in sale mark . We ca n’t wait to see how the 8th book in the series , " Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , " fare . Who would have think there would be an 8th book in the serial ?
20: “The Catcher in the Rye” - 60 million
" The Catcher in the Rye , " J.D. Salinger ’s 1951bookabout teen disillusionment , is one of his undecomposed books and a must - record for adolescents everywhere about the angst that a gamey schooling kid inherits — literally , in many instance , as the Koran is part of the literary canyon assigned to many mellow school reader . Like " A Tale of Two Cities , " sales numbers for Salinger ’s novel likely profit from frequent inclusion on in high spirits school day want meter reading lists , but there ’s no deny that the al-Qur’an is a fascinating glance into the inner workings of a teenage male child stress to separate out his future tense amid the angst that a gamy school Thomas Kid inherits .
21: “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” - 50 million
Lew Wallace wrotethis biblical fib , publish it in 1880 . " Ben - Hur : A Tale of the Christ , " smartly discuss the lifespan and meter of Jesus Christ indirectly , using the protagonist , Judah Ben - Hur , to observe Christ and other face of sprightliness in that era . Wallace meticulously researched the historical accuracy of the novel . It is credited with popularizing novels in the U.S. , since the spiritual musical theme made it more toothsome to readers at the time .
The sale number is an estimation — it was tremendously pop in the years after it was first issue , but it ’s more likely you ’ve heard of it because of the1959 filmstarring Charlton Heston or the2016 remaking .
22: “Lolita” - 50 million
Thiscontroversial novelby Vladimir Nabokov was first published in 1955 . " Lolita " has often beenbanneddue to the nature of its open issue — it concerns a gentleman , Humbert Humbert , who begin involved with a single female parent and evolve a sexual relationship and a potentially dangerous romance with his 12 - twelvemonth - former stepdaughter . Despite its shocking tarradiddle of a single female parent and her sexually charged girl , the novel does have its champions : 125 famous authorsvotedit one of the all - time outstanding best books .
