Index Translationum

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The Index Translationum is UNESCO's database of book translations. Books have been translated for thousands of years, with no central record of the fact. The League of Nations established a record of translations in 1932. In 1946, the UN superseded the League and UNESCO was assigned the Index. In 1979, the records were computerized.

Since the Index counts translations of individual books, authors with many books with few translations can rank higher than authors with a few books with more translations. So, for example, while the Bible is the most translated single book in the world, it does not rank in the top 10 of the index. [1] The Index counts the Walt Disney Company, employing many writers, as a single writer. Different authors with similar names are sometimes included as one entry, for example, the ranking for "Herge" applies not only to the popular author of Tintin (Hergé), but also to B.R. Hergehahn, Elisabeth Herget, Douglas Hergert, etc. Hence, the "top" authors, as the Index presents them, are based on a database query whose results require interpretation.