Twenty pct. of bookstores closed up shop last year

Bookstores are becoming a rare sight in the Netherlands. Last year the Netherlands had a total of about 800 bookstores, compared to almost 1,000 in 2007 - a decrease of 20 percent.

This is according to figures published by Statistics Netherlands yesterday. According to Statistics Netherlands, technological developments such as online shopping and ebooks had an impact on the number of stores. The number of internet users that purchased a book, newspaper or magazine online increased by more than a quarter between 2007 and 2013.

Friesland has the most bookstores per resident, with 7 bookstores per 100 thousand inhabitants. Limburg comes in last place with less than 3 bookstores per 100 thousand inhabitants. The most bookstores can be found in Zuid-Holland (175).