Without reading translated books, we’re only seeing a tiny sliver of the literature the world has to offer. Authors are writing incredible books in a variety of languages around the world, but only a small percentage make their way to English translations.
If you’re looking for a place to start reading books in translation, Preply has created a great resource for you. They have compiled the most translated books by country, and presented the data in these beautiful maps! You can check out their original post for more information on some of the titles included.
The most translated books of the world
Did you guess the most translated book in the world? It’s The Little Prince, which has been translated to more than 380 different languages! Following after that is The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. These are both considered classics that have had many decades to accumulate translations.
Preply excluded from these numbers religious texts that couldn’t be easily attributed to a single author or country.
The most translated books of North America
I highly recommend taking a moment to try to guess which title from the U.S. is the most translated before you scroll.
Antigua and Barbuda: Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
Bahamas: Hotel by Arthur Hailey
Barbados: In the Castle of my Skin by George Lamming
Canada: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Costa Rica: The Lonely Men’s Island by José León Sánchez
Cuba: Reasons of State by Alejo Carpentier
Dominica: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Dominican Republic: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz*
Guatemala: El Señor Presidente by Miguel Ángel Asturias
Haiti: Hadriana in all my Dreams by René Dépestre
Honduras: Prisión Verde by Ramón Amaya Amador
Jamaica: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Mexico: Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
Nicaragua: To Live is to Love by Ernesto Cardenal
Panama: Aura by Carlos Fuentes
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips
Saint Lucia: Omeros by Derek Walcott
Trinidad and Tobago: A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
United States of America: The Way to Happiness by L. Ron Hubbard
If you’re surprised by that last title, Preply explains:
The most translated single book in North America and the only self-help book on the world map is from the United States: L. Ron Hubbard’s The Way to Happiness. Translated into more than 112 languages, this booklet lists 21 moral commandments for readers to follow.
Hubbard also happens to be the founder of the Church of Scientology, so the unsolicited distribution of these texts in schools and other public buildings has caused quite the controversy. “Ask, and you shall receive” is presumably not one of its guiding principles.
*In light of sexual misconduct allegations against Junot Diaz, consider supporting the work of other Dominican authors like Rita Indiana, Julia Alvarez, and Angie Cruz.
The most translated books of South America
Unsurprisingly, the most translated title on the South American continent is The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo. Like The Little Prince, it doubles as both a novel and a fable about living well, and it’s still popular decades after publication.
Argentina: The Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges
Bolivia: One Hundred Poems for Children by Oscar Alfaro
Brazil: The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo
Chile: 2666 by Roberto Bolaño
Colombia: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Ecuador: Huasipungo by Jorge Icaza
Guyana: Palace of the Peacock by Wilson Harris
Paraguay: Son of Man by Augusto Roa Bastos
Peru: The Green House by Mario Vargas Llosa
Uruguay: Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano
Venezuela: Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos
The most translated books in Europe
As you might expect, Europe has many children’s titles that have been published in a variety of languages. Still, it’s interesting to see that this isn’t an exact overlap with their most popular children’s books — it seems like the books that have been around for longer (like Bambi) have the best chance of getting lots of translations, regardless of whether they’re currently the most popular book in that country.
Albania: The General of the Dead Army by Ismail Kadare
Austria: Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten
Azerbaijan: Khamsa by Nizami Ganjavi
Belarus: The Unwomanly Face of War: an Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Aleksievich
Belgium: The Adventures of Tintin by Georges Prosper Remi (Hergé)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić
Bulgaria: Under the Yoke by Ivan Vazov
Croatia: Croatian God Mars by Miroslav Krleža
Czech Republic: The Good Soldier by Švejk Jaroslav Hašek
Denmark: Andersen’s Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
England: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
Estonia: The Czar’s Madman by Jaan Kross
Finland: Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot
France: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Germany: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
Greece: The Greek Passion by Nikos Kazantzakis
Hungary: The Tragedy of Man by Imre Madách
Iceland: Salka Valka: A Novel of Iceland by Halldór Laxness
Ireland: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Italy: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Latvia: My System: A Treatise On Chess by Aron Nimzowitsch
Lithuania: The Seasons by Kristijonas Donelaitis
Macedonia: White Dawns by Kočo Racin
Malta: Dun Karm, Poet of Malta by Dun Karm
Moldova: Ostinato by Paul Goma
Montenegro: The Mountain Wreath by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
Netherlands: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Norway: The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl
Poland: Quo Vadis by Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz
Portugal: Baltasar and Blimunda by José Saramago
Romania: The Book of Mirrors by Eugen Chirovici
Russia: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Scotland: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Serbia: Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
Slovakia: Kumewawa, the Son of the Jungle by Tibor Sekelj
Slovenia: Minuet for Guitar by Vitomil Zupan
Spain: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Sweden: Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Switzerland: Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Turkey: My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Ukraine: Testament by Taras Shevchenko
Wales: The Pillars of Earth by Ken Follett
The most translated books in Africa
Another fable makes the list on the African continent: The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o has been published in more than 60 languages. These short tales that give insight into the human condition seem to have universal appeal, making them attractive as translation options.
Angola: The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa
Botswana: Maru by Bessie Head
Burundi: Petit Pays by Gaël Faye
Cameroon: Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono
Cape Verde: The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva by Araújo Germano Almeida
Congo: Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou
Côte d’Ivoire: Allah is not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Tram 83 by Mwanza Mujila
Djibouti: Passage of Tears by Abdourahman A Waberi
Egypt: Women at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi
Ethiopia: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
Ghana: The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah
Guinea: The African Child by Camara Laye
Guinea-Bissau: The Ultimate Tragedy by Abdulai Sila
Kenya: The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
Lesotho: Chaka by Thomas Mofolo
Liberia: The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
Libya: In The Country of Men by Hisham Matar
Madagascar: The Palace by Claude Simon
Malawi: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
Mali: Kaïdara: récit initiatique peul by Amadou Hampaté Bâ
Mauritania: Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Mauritius: The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah
Morocco: Racism Explained to My Daughter by Tahar Ben Jelloun
Mozambique: Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto
Nigeria: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Rwanda: Left to Tell: One Woman’s Story of Surviving the Rwandan Genocide by Immaculée Ilibagiza
Senegal: God’s Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène
Sierra Leone: Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Somalia: Desert Flower by Waris Dirie
South Africa: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Sudan: Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
Tanzania: Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Uganda: Chroniques Abyssiniennes by Moses Isegawa
Zambia: River God by Wilbur Smith
Zimbabwe: We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
THE MOST TRANSLATED BOOKS IN ASIA
Pop quiz: who’s the most translated novelist on the Asian continent? Most likely you already got it or are kicking yourself now: it’s Haruki Murakami. Norwegian Wood ties for the most translated book from Asia with Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Afghanistan: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Armenia: My Name is Aram by William Saroyan
Cambodia: The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam
China: The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun
Georgia: The Lord of the Panther-Skin by Shota Rustaveli
India: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
Indonesia: Footsteps by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Iran: The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat
Israel: Suddenly, a Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret
Japan: Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Korea (North and South): The Tears of my Soul by Kim Hyon-hui
Kyrgyzstan: The Place of the Skull by Chinghiz Aitmatov
Lebanon: I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman by Joumana Haddad
Malaysia: The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Myanmar: From the Land of Green Ghosts: a Burmese Odyssey by Pascal Khoo Thwe
Pakistan: Poems by Aḥmad Faiẓ
Philippines: Mass by F. Sionil Jose
Singapore: The Saint in New York by Leslie Charteris
Sri Lanka: The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Syria: The Book of Contemplation: Islam and the Crusades by Usama ibn Munqidh
Tajikistan: Der Tod des Wucherers by Sadriddin Aini
Thailand: Awaken Healing Energy Through the Tao by Mantak Chia
Timor-Leste: The Crossing: a Story of East Timor by Luís Cardoso
Uzbekistan: The Beggar in the Harem: Impudent Adventures in Old Bukhara by Leonid Solovyov
Vietnam: Prison Diary by Ho Chi Minh
The most translated books in Oceania
The most translated work from New Zealand is The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, a fantastic children’s story about a Maori girl who has to prove that she is the once in a generation “whale rider,” despite that title traditionally only going to men. It was also made into a movie!
Australia: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
New Zealand: The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
Samoa: Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Albert Wendt
Tonga: Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau’ofa
Those are the most translated books form every country in the world! Did any come as a surprise? You can check out Preply’s data and methodology and well as their original post for more information.
