Sales of religious books saw a major turnaround last year, rising 12.5% after declining 10.6% in 2009, according to the new landmark statistical survey by the Association of American Publishers and Book Industry Study Group.

Sales for the religious segment—in all print and digital formats—totaled $1.35 billion in 2010, said the joint report, released this week.

Incorporating net sales revenue and unit data from more than 1,100 U.S. publishers, BookStats is billed as the most comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the book industry, with information covering 2008-2010.

The report revealed that publishers' net sales revenue was $27.9 billion in 2010, a 5.6% increase from 2008. Additionally, publishers' 2.57 billion net units sold last year represented a 4.1% increase since 2008.

"The study indicates that the publishing industry is healthy and growing during a time of unprecedented change," said Dominique Raccah, founder and CEO of Sourcebooks and chair of the BookStats committee. "Publishers have made significant investments in content and technology to better serve their audiences' needs, and those efforts seem to correlate with the results we're seeing."

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