The department says this figure outweighs the average number of books read per year by Vietnamese people - at 4 books per person annually.
This figure is around 20 for countries like Israel, France and Japan, while in the region, it hovers around 14 for Singapore and 10 for Malaysia.
The report from the Department also pointed out continued concerns of piracy. The Department penalised many cases throughout the year with total of fines going up to nearly 33,000 USD.
