The printing press is perhaps the single most important innovation in communications technology the world has seen, and the printed book became the easiest way to communicate knowledge over long distances. Yet the printing press has also contributed to a more urban world, by spurring revolutions in thinking about politics, religion and social attitudes.

The importance of literary culture in cities is reflected in the statistics gathered for this report. Although libraries have existed for centuries – the famous ancient Library of Alexandria was built more than 2,300 years ago – genuinely public libraries, aimed at the mass of the population, are a comparatively recent phenomenon, dating from the industrial revolution and efforts to encourage greater literacy and education. Driven by government legislation, and by reformers such as Andrew Carnegie in the United States, the public library spread rapidly across the world. Even in the internet age, major new libraries continue to be built. The National Library of Singapore opened in 2005 at a cost of more than £250m and holds more than 700,000 books and other print and non-print materials.

Today, half of the 12 world cities have 200 or more public libraries, with Paris reporting the highest number. The world cities’ libraries lend huge numbers of books. Seven cities lend at least 20m a year, with Tokyo lending more than 110m. Both Tokyo and New York lend more than eight books a year per head of population.

Libraries are, of course, not the only source of books and reading materials. The cities also contain thousands of bookshops. In the richer countries, bookshops are under pressure from a range of factors, such as the spread of e-books, high rents and changing consumer taste. The numbers of shops are still significant – London has 800, while New York has 750. However, other cities report higher numbers: São Paulo has 870 and Johannesburg more than 1,000. Shanghai leads the way, with over 3,000.

The report also collected data for rare and second-hand bookshops. These were most frequently found in Johannesburg (over 900) and Tokyo (almost 700).

Statistics on publishing are hard to find for cities, though national data is available. Once again, historical accident has played a part in determining the centres of publishing. Edward Glaeser has pointed out that in the nineteenth century the big profits in American publishing came from printing pirated copies of English novels. New York’s port and East Coast location meant its publishers could get hold of the English originals before their rivals in other cities, which allowed it to build up a dominant position in the industry it maintains to this day.

The number of books published has exploded in recent years. In China and the USA around 300,000 are published every year, while in the UK the figure is just over 150,000. France and Japan see more than 70,000 published annually.