What does social sciences & humanities publishing include?

Social science and humanities publishing (SSH) includes upper-level student and professional-level content in electronic and print media forms. This report addresses five product formats: books, journals, online content, abstracting and indexing services (A&I), and other activities.

What is the total market size globally for social sciences and humanities publishing?

The total market for Social Sciences and Humanities publishing is sized at $4.49 billion in revenue in 2022, up 0.8% above revenue of $4.46 billion in 2021 as major competitors recovered from a short-term decline during 2020 to 2021.

Who are the leading competitors for social sciences & humanities publishing?

Top SSH publishers include: Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, Clarivate/ProQuest and EBSCO.

Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2023-2027

Industry Reports, Global

Report Overview

Learn more about why the top ten competitors in the social sciences and humanities publishing market delivered revenue of $1.69 billion.

According to Simba Information’s Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2023-2027 report, published June 2023, the global Social Science and Humanities market totaled $4.49 billion in revenue in 2022 an increase of 0.8% over $4.46 billion in 2021. The report found that market growth can be attributed to the recovery of major competitors in the market that saw short-term declines in revenue in 2020-2021. Simba also determined that the market saw an increase of 1.9% in online content revenue in 2022 vs $1.118 billion versus 2021. Simba Information’s Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2023-2027 determined that this market continues to be dominated by books, which in 2022 accounted for 38% of revenue, followed by journals, which delivered 36% of revenue in the same year.

Methodology $332.94
- Definition of Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing $310.50
  - Social Science & Humanities Disciplines $310.50
- Definitions of Social Science & Humanities Publishing by Media $310.50
  - Books $310.50
  - Journals $310.50
  - Online Content and Services $310.50
  - Abstracting & Indexing Services $310.50
  - Other Activities $310.50
  - Elimination $310.50
- Scope of the Report $310.50
- Definitions by Geography $310.50
- Sources of Information $310.50
  - Methodology for Estimates and Forecasts $310.50

Executive Overview $310.50
- Introduction $310.50
  - Leading Competitors $310.50
  - Competitive Landscape $310.50
  - Outlook $310.50

Market Trends $774.33
- Introduction $310.50
- Current Trends $759.89
  - Economic Headwinds Accelerating $310.50
  - The SSH Pipeline $310.50
  - Changing Role of Journals in SSH Publishing $310.50
  - Academic Library Insights $310.50
  - Pricing Issues at Academic Libraries $310.50
  - NIH Funding for Behavioral and Social Science $310.50
  - Global R&D Spending $310.50
    - Table | Research & Development Spending by Country, 2018 – 2021 ($ in billions)

Market Landscape $750.93
- Introduction $310.50
- Market Size $310.50
  - Books $310.50
    - Table | SSH Publishing by Product Form, 2020 – 2022 ($ in millions)
  - Journals $310.50
  - Online Content $310.50
  - Abstracting & Indexing Services $310.50
  - Other Activities $310.50
- SSH Publishing by Geography $432.69
  - Language Splits $310.50
  - Social Science Research Output $310.50
  - China Advancing in SSH Research $310.50
  - SSH Publishing by Region $310.50
  - Currency Effects $310.50
    - Table | Foreign Exchange Trends: Unit of Foreign Currency in US Dollar Equivalent, 2020 – 2022

Leading Competitors $2,898.00
- Introduction $310.50
- Leading SSH Publishers $310.50
  - Table | Leading Social Sciences & Humanities Publishers, 2021 – 2022 ($ in millions)
- Informa $905.95
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Taylor & Francis $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
    - Table | Taylor & Francis: SSH Publishing by Form, 2022
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Innovation $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Elsevier $792.17
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Elsevier: Science, Technical & Medical $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- EBSCO Information Services $554.37
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - EBSCO Information Services $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- ProQuest $797.41
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Academia & Government $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Springer Nature $769.05
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Research $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Sage Publishing $620.87
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Wiley $704.44
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Research $310.50
  - Academic $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Cengage $602.88
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Research $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Oxford University Press $479.63
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Academic $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Cambridge University Press $439.53
  - Company Overview $310.50
  - Business Segments $310.50
  - Cambridge University Press $310.50
  - SSH Content $310.50
  - Recent Company Performance $310.50
  - Publishing Strategy $310.50
  - Product Development $310.50
- Other Leading Social Science & Humanities Publishers $731.91
  - Bloomsbury Publishing $310.50
  - De Gruyter $310.50
  - Brill $310.50
  - Peter Lang $310.50
  - Pearson $310.50
  - Art Publishers $310.50
  - University Presses $310.50
  - Online Content $310.50

Mergers & Acquisitions $394.04
- Mergers & Acquisitions $393.10
  - Table | Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships: SSH Publishing 2020
  - Table | Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships: SSH Publishing, 2021
  - Table | Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships: SSH Publishing, 2022
  - Table | Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships: SSH Publishing, 2023

Global Forecast $321.87
- Introduction $310.50
- Market Forecast $312.52
  - Outlook: Leading SSH Publishers $310.50
    - Table | Leading SSH Publishers Forecast, 2022 – 2023E ($ in millions)
  - Global Markets $310.50
  - Product Segments $310.50
    - Table | SSH Publishing Forecast by Form, 2023P – 2027P ($ in millions)

Appendix $310.50
- Table | Research & Development Spending Forecast by Country, 2022-2025 ($ in billions)
- Table | Currency Exchange Rate vs. US Dollar, 2020 – 2022

Simba Information’s Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2023-2027 surfaces trends impacting the market, offers an analysis of the market landscape, provides profiles on the leading competitors in the market, and identifies mergers and acquisitions in the market from 2020-2023. Also included are a global forecast, insights on how these information products are being used, geographic and product format breakdowns and current industry challenges

The data and findings are based on Simba’s internal research and analysis of official data drawn from a wide range of expert sources, including interviews with industry executives, trade associations, government data sources, specialized industry databases, trade and publishing trade publications, annual reports, SEC filings, company Websites and marketing materials, earning call presentations, industry surveys and conference proceedings and other authoritative sources.

The Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2023-2027 report covers the following major categories:

Market Trends
Market Landscape
Leading Competitors
Mergers and Acquisitions
Global Forecasts
Definitions of Social Sciences and Humanities Publishing by Media
The Changing Role of Journals
Academic Library Insights
Global R & D Spending
Profiles of Leading Competitors

The report also contains detailed and granular data and analysis on key trends and developments in the market including a focus on:

Economic Headwinds Impacting the Market
The Social Sciences and Humanities Pipeline
Pricing Issues at Academic Libraries
NIH Funding

Key companies profiled include:

Bloomsbury Publishing
Brill
Cengage
De Gruyter
EBSCO Information Services
Elsevier
Informa
Oxford University Press
Pearson
Peter Lang
ProQuest
Sage Publishing
Springer Nature
Wiley

Publishers and investment professionals can trust Simba Information's Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2023-2027 to provide the inside intelligence needed to evaluate the changes and needs effecting the products, sales, segment, and marketing of social science and humanities texts and materials.

Global Social Sciences & Humanities Publishing 2023-2027 is an essential tool for publishing executives, M&A advisors, market analysts, and industry consultants who need to understand the current drivers impacting social science and humanities publishing, both recent past, present and forecast into the next few years.

Simba has the knowledge base and perspective gained from more than 20 years’ covering this market and the rapid changes in technology, the economy, mergers, partnerships and public policy that affect it.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape is currently dynamic due to Clarivate’s acquisition of ProQuest and its impact on the established hierarchy within the market. Clarivate has ambitious plans for the integration of ProQuest into the company’s structure, and once that integration is more fully articulated there will likely be impacts on other competitors in the academic space.

Informa and Cengage have undertaken extensive restructuring, and many companies are engaged in strategic reviews of their businesses, especially those with exposure in higher education markets. Informa sold off its large Informa Intelligence division to allow more focus on its B2B businesses and the Taylor & Francis publishing division.

Cambridge University Press merged with the Cambridge Assessment business to create a new entity: Cambridge University Press & Assessments. This union highlights the focus on end-to-end structures in publishing. Many publishers are moving laterally into adjacencies such as assessments, specialized workforce education services around upskilling and reskilling.

Outlook

The macroeconomic outlook is steadily weakening and impacts from the academic markets are also negatively affecting the publishing competitors that serve those markets.

The total Social Sciences & Humanities publishing market is forecast to reach $4.5 billion in 2023, gaining 0.7% over 2022. Longer term, the macroenvironment is expected to hinder growth over the 2023-2025 period. Minimal growth is forecast for the scholarly publishing market, reaching $4.67 billion in revenue by 2027, with CAGR of 0.8% over the 2023-2027 period.

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