RELX Group has been dethroned by Thomson Reuters after seven years at the top of the Global 50 Publishing Ranking 2025.

The top 10 publishers on this year's list represent a diverse mix of sectors, including trade books, academic, professional, and educational publishing. Bertelsmann, mainly through Penguin Random House and its educational publishing division, has grown into the world's third-largest book publisher, with the majority of its revenue coming from Penguin Random House.

The rankings of Chinese publishing groups on the 2025 list have shifted. McGraw-Hill has re-entered the list and made a substantial jump in position. As a result, Phoenix Publishing and Media Group has fallen one spot to 12th. Central South Publishing & Media Group now holds the 19th place, and China Publishing Group is in 24th.

The Global 50 Publishing Ranking is researched by Ruediger Wischenbart Content and Consulting and published by leading international book industry publications, including Publishers Weekly (USA), The Bookseller (UK), Livres Hebdo (France), dpr Digital Publishing Report (Germany) and Bookdao (China).

The ranking, which has been updated every year since 2007, represents 34 companies that each report revenues from publishing of over EUR 500 million (or $550 million).