The unpredictable year 2026 began with the United States’ attack on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, a worldwide news event that opened the way to a chain of conflicts that have led to total war in the Middle East. With the planet in full informational upheaval, EL PAÍS maintains its leading growth among the Spanish general press, according to the General Media Study (EGM). The print newspaper of the Prisa Group, first in the ranking of these metrics since 1982, surpasses its best figure since 2021, recorded in the previous EGM wave that reflected a 15% increase in its audience over the last year, and exceeds El Mundo, the second competitor, by more than 350,000 readers. A few weeks from celebrating its first 50 years of life, this newspaper reaches a circulation of 854,000 readers, according to the first wave of the 2026 EGM released this Wednesday.
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The consolidated advantage of EL PAÍS over El Mundo widens in the EGM ranking, more than doubling the rest of the competitors: the newspaper Abc, with 377,000 readers, La Vanguardia, with 370,000, and La Voz de Galicia, with 312,000. Additionally, it triples 20 Minutos, with 249,000; El Correo, with 193,000; El Periódico, with 189,000; and La Razón, with 121,000. The growth path of EL PAÍS in these metrics reflects an evolution from the first wave a year ago, with 773,000 readers, which rose in the second wave last summer to 791,000 and reached 845,000 by the end of 2025. After that 15% increase in audience over the last year, the print edition of this newspaper now grows again with a circulation of 854,000 readers.
While the sustained growth curve in the number of EL PAÍS subscribers exceeds 450,000 subscribers (combining its digital and print versions, a figure that is more than double the next title), the editorial commitment reflected in print also projects its influence above the rest of the general information newspapers in Spain. The EGM data by regions show that this newspaper is the most read national general newspaper in 15 of the 17 autonomous communities. And it is the main choice for men and women in all age groups analyzed, ranging from adolescence to people over 75 years old.
In the daily frenzy of news about multiple current hotspots, the print edition of this newspaper consolidates its growth in the trust of readers who access through each edition a panorama of the last 24 hours in the life of the world, framed in information, opinion, and analysis to understand our time. A refuge apart from the noise generated by the multiple channels that flood the information ecosystem. And a space for plural reflection against the overabundance of voices amplifying confrontation.
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Increase in press circulation
The growth of the print edition of EL PAÍS coincides in this first wave of the 2026 EGM with a rebound in the circulation of the Spanish press in print, after a sustained decline during 2025. The 5,317,000 readers accumulated by all titles in the previous EGM wave reach 538,000 in these first months of the year. Likewise, general newspapers rise from the 4,683,000 readers recorded last December to now total 4,741,000.
Apart from the general press, sports newspapers reach a circulation of 1,398,000 readers; and economic newspapers, 202,000. Among all Spanish newspapers, the sports Marca maintains leadership among the top five in the ranking with 912,000 readers, followed by EL PAÍS with 854,000; El Mundo, with 503,000; As, with 382,000; and Abc, with 377,000.