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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11There is no verified global count of how many distinct people have read each book, so the literal answer to “What is the most read book in the world besides the Bible?” is not established. If “most read” is used to mean print circulation, Quotations from Chairman Mao—the Little Red Book—is a leading candidate. If the measure is documented sales of a reference book, the Xinhua Dictionary holds a Guinness World Records record. Those measures are not interchangeable.
Why there is no definitive “most read” answer
A readership ranking would need to count distinct people who read a book. The available figures instead count copies sold, printed, or distributed. A copy may be read by several people, or never read; reprints and distribution also make those totals different from a count of readers.
Even “second best-selling book” is a different question from “second most read.” Rankings also depend on whether religious texts and reference books are included and on whether the figure measures sales, printings, or distribution.
The Little Red Book: a leading candidate by print circulation
Quotations from Chairman Mao, commonly known as the Little Red Book, is a prominent candidate when the comparison is about copies printed. Cambridge University Press’s summary of Daniel Leese’s 2011 scholarly chapter estimates that just over one billion official copies were printed from 1966 to 1969. The estimate excludes local prints, foreign-language editions, internal army volumes, and mimeographed or handwritten copies. It is a print estimate, not an audited sales total or a readership count. Cambridge University Press, Daniel Leese’s chapter summary.
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A 2014 Cambridge University Press volume on the book gives a related historical estimate: just over one billion printings between 1966 and 1971, describing its print circulation as second only to the Bible. That estimate uses a different period and should not be treated as a directly comparable or independently audited count. Cambridge University Press, Mao’s Little Red Book: A Global History.
The Xinhua Dictionary: a Guinness sales record for reference books
Guinness World Records reports that the Xinhua Dictionary had sold 567,007,232 copies through 28 July 2015, and identifies it as the best-selling reference book and most popular dictionary. The reported total combines an estimate of 400 million copies from the first edition in 1953 through 2004 with another 167,007,232 verified through the record date. This is a dated sales record for a reference work—not a count of readers, nor a general ranking of all books besides the Bible. Guinness World Records, “Best-selling book (regularly updated)”.
Rank #2
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How the Bible comparison fits
Guinness World Records states, “The best-selling book of all time is the Christian Bible.” It reports that research by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2021 suggested a cumulative total of 5–7 billion copies. That broad historical estimate includes copies distributed as well as sold, and does not represent unique readers. It therefore cannot be compared directly with the Little Red Book’s historical print estimates or the Xinhua Dictionary’s dated sales record. Guinness World Records, “Best-selling book”.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What different rankings can—and cannot—show
A 2010 “best guess” list in Publishing Perspectives includes both the Qur’an and the Little Red Book, while warning that precise figures for contemporary works are difficult to establish and figures for older books are virtually impossible. It is useful as evidence that candidate lists vary, not as a verified worldwide readership ranking. Publishing Perspectives, “The Bible vs. Mao: A ‘Best Guess’ of the Top 25 Bestselling Books of All Time”.
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- Print circulation: the Little Red Book is a leading candidate, based on scholarly historical estimates.
- Documented reference-book sales: Guinness records the Xinhua Dictionary’s dated total through 28 July 2015.
- Best-selling book overall: Guinness identifies the Bible, while its cited 5–7 billion estimate includes historical distribution.
For context on the Little Red Book’s history and international reach, Cambridge University Press’s Mao’s Little Red Book: A Global History is a scholarly volume edited by Alexander C. Cook; it is background reading, not proof of a definitive “second most read” title.
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Rank #4
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