UNITED STATES ANIME MARKET WORTH $2.7 BILLION USD IN 2009

From Anime News Network.

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a group affiliated with the Japanese government, reported in its April 13 "State of the Content Market in America 2010-2011" white paper that the anime-related market in the region was worth an estimated US$2.741 billion (about 257 billion yen) in 2009. Wowmax Media used data from NPD, Nielsen VideoScan, ICv2, and Box Office Mojo in compiling the statistics that JETRO posted. Wowmax Media does not have an estimate for the sale of character goods in 2010, so it does not have a full estimate for the anime-related market for last year.

The anime-related market in North America was reportedly at its largest in 2003, when it stood at US$4.84 billion. The 2009 figure was over 43% smaller. Of that US$2.741 billion in 2009, character goods made up US$2.420 billion, while DVDs accounted for US$306 million.

The article does a interesting breakdown of the numbers and its really worth the read.