Paid-for and free dailies combined worldwide marked growth both in circulation and number of dailies from 2001 to 2005, according to World Press Trends 2006, SFN's New Print Products reported.

Within the five years, the overall circulation worldwide went up nearly 10 percent, while the number of dailies increased by about 15 percent.

When broken down by continent, Asia was the bright spot, with circulation and number of titles increasing 17 percent and 21 percent during the five years, respectively. Africa also saw a 16 percent growth for number of papers, as well as a 12 percent increase in circulation.

The number of European paid-for and free dailies grew nearly 16 percent, although circulation rose merely 2.12 percent.

In South America, the number of dailies had boosted more than 20 percent, but the circulation had plummeted by almost 10 percent in the five years.

On the other hand, North American dailies were almost flat, while Australia Oceania was lagging far behind. Circulation in North America increased slightly by less than 1 percent, while the number of titles was down 1 percent, according to World Press Trends 2006. Australia Oceania, however, saw both circulation and number of dailies dropped over four percent, according to the report, New Print Products, released by SFN and the World Association of Newspapers.