ABBA "GOLD" Sales.
Country Sales (Certifications)
| Argentina | 210,000 | platinum x3 | 1994 | ACP |
| Australia | 1,190,000 | platinum x14 | 2014 | ARIA |
| Austria | 150,000 | platinum x3 | 1999 | IFPI |
| Belgium | 350,000 | platinum x7 | 2014 | Ultrapop |
| Brazil | 100,000 | gold | 1994 | ABPD |
| Canada | 1,300,000 | diamond | 2000 | CRIA |
| Chile | 60,000 | platinum x3 | 1999 | |
| Denmark | 560,000 | platinum x7 | 2011 | |
| France | 1,000,000 | diamond | 1996 | SNEP |
| Finland | 145,000 | platinum x3 | 1999 | |
| Germany | 2,500,000 | platinum x5 | 2009 | Musikindustrie |
| Hong Kong | 120,000 | platinum x6 | 1999 | |
| Hungary | 20,000 | platinum | 1999 | Slagerlistak |
| Iceland | 5,000 | gold | 1999 | |
| India | 20,000 | platinum | 1999 | |
| Ireland | 90,000 | platinum x6 | 1999 | |
| Italy | 470,000 | gx4 (1999) p (2020) | 1999/2020 | FIMI |
| Israel | 40,000 | platinum | 1999 | |
| Japan | 600,000 | platinum x3 | 2009 | RIAJ |
| Latvia | 32,000 | platinum x4 | 1998 | |
| Malaysia | 100,000 | platinum x4 | 1999 | |
| Mexico | 250,000 | platinum | 2008 | |
| Netherlands | 100,000 | platinum | 1999 | |
| New Zealand | 240,000 | platinum x18 | 2008 | RIANZ |
| Norway | 100,000 | platinum x3 | 1999 | |
| Poland | 40,000 | platinum | 1999 | |
| Portugal | 80,000 | platinum x2 | 1999 | |
| Russia | 10,000 | gold | 2008 | IFPI |
| Singapore | 165,000 | platinum x11 | 1999 | |
| South Africa | 50,000 | platinum | 1999 | |
| South Korea | 100,000 | platinum | 1999 | |
| Spain | 500,000 | platinum x5 | 2000 | Mediafire |
| Sweden | 500,000 | platinum x5 | 1999 | IFPI |
| Switzerland | 500,000 | platinum x10 | 2008 | IFPI |
| Taiwan | 350,000 | platinum x7 | 1999 | |
| Thailand | 20,000 | gold | 1999 | |
| UK | 6,000,000 | platinum x20 | 2021 | BPI |
| US | 6,000,000 | platinum x6 | 2002 | RIAA |
| Venezuela | 50,000 | silver | 1999 | |
| 23,937,000 |
References - Billboard (Gold - certifications from 1999)
Many countries no longer have public databases
Media Traffic estimated sales of 28m in 2011. Please note the number next to each symbol, confusingly, represents 2 million sales - so Gold x14 is 28m sales.
This article confirms 23 million album CERTIFIED Sales. It is one of the World's best selling albums of All Time.
1. Thriller - Michael Jackson 50.2m
2. Greatest Hits - The Eagles 49.1m
3. Hotel California - the Eagles 31.5m
4. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin 30.4m
5. Back in Black - ACDC 30.1m6.
6. Come on Over - Shania Twain 29.9m
7.Rumours - Fleetwood Mac 29.3
8. The Bodyguard - Original Soundtrack 28.7m
9 21 - Adele 26.4m
10. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd 26.4m
11 Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morrisette 24.3m
12 1 - The Beatles 23.2m
13. Gold Greatest Hits - ABBA 23.0m
Estimated sales: 32,000,000 (physical/download - mainly physical). 36,000,000 plus including stream equivalent sales.
➡️An extra 5 million sales in US (inc stream equivalent sales). Pure Sales about 9.3 million. Stream equivalent brings up to 11 million. These figues based on Soundscan sales. To get a higher sales certification from the RIAA, Universal Music Group USA need to provide evidence (which is there) and apply. THEY HAVE FAILED TO UPDATE FOR 20 YEARS!!!!! It is the fault of UMG (USA) not the RIAA.
➡️ Pure Sales vs Streaming Split. Worldwide about 32m to 4m. In US 9.3. to 1.7m, in UK 1.65m to 0 5m. Obviously though sales up to 2012-15 (different countries introduced streaming "sales" different times) were physical with some downloads. Since then overwhelmingly 'stream equivalent sales'.
➡️France an extra 1 milliion sales
➡️ Canada an extra half a million sales
➡️ Sweden possibly an extra half a million sales.
➡️ Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain an extra million combined
➡️Many countries on list not certified since 1999 (or at least I have no records of more recent ones)
➡️Plus countries not on list eg in Latin America, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe. Sales would be small though.
➡️As you can see sales in the UK are updated regularly, not so in other countries.
➡️On these official but mainly outdated sales the UK and US sales are about half the global total. Even if updated sales are about 30 million those sales still represent 50% of the total - 9m in the US, 6m in the UK.
Why are the USA, Canada, France, Sweden, The Netherlands in particular so slow in updating sales? My estimates for Gold and indeed Abba Record Sales generally stand. But wouldn't it be nice if we got OFFICIAL and UP TO DATE sales? Pre- Gold Greatest Hits will realistically have to be estimate dominant. But not for Gold Greatest Hits or albums since then. There is no excuse for the USA, Sweden or The Netherlands not to update. Lecture over.
UK sales - GOLD with end of year chart positions in final column
* estimated sale for years 1992-95 inclusive
| 1992 | 525,000 | 12 | |
| 1993 | 205,000 | 36 | |
| 1994 | 168,000 | 63 | |
| 1995 | 140,000 | 80 | |
| 1996 | 130,000 | 87 | |
| 1997 | 110,000 | 100 | |
| 1998 | 211,000 | 55 | |
| 1999 | 1,253,000 | 4 | |
| 2000 | 367,000 | 41 | |
| 2001 | 107,000 | 148 | |
| 2002 | 42,000 | -- | |
| 2003 | 95,000 | 193 | |
| 2004 | 377,000 | 47 | |
| 2005 | 160,000 | 118 | |
| 2006 | 94,000 | 194 | |
| 2007 | 92,000 | 166 | |
| 2008 | 410,000 | 19 | |
| 2009 | 249,000 | 54 | |
| 2010 | 151,000 | 90 | |
| 2011 | 95,000 | 130 | |
| 2012 | 81,000 | 140 | |
| 2013 | 76,000 | 119 | |
| 2014 | 70,000 | 103 | |
| 2015 | 84,000 | 77 | |
| 2016 | 88,000 | 72 | |
| 2017 | 91,000 | 77 | |
| 2018 | 174,000 | 20 | |
| 2019 | 122,000 | 32 | |
| 2020 | 135,000 | 19 | |
| 2021 | 178,000 | 13 |
Downloads introduced 2005. Audio stream equivalent sales introduced 2015.
For 2021. 178,000 sales breaks down: 46,000 physical sales, 6,000 digital sales, 126,000 streaming equivalent sales.
You can see from this the decline in sales. 2020s sales and Year End Chart position within the Top 20 would put it outside the Top 80 in the mid 90s. A #19 Year End Chart position needed 410,000 sales in 2008 but only 135,000 in 2020.
175,000 sales is a #20 Year End Chart position in 2018 but #13 in 2021.
Sales were just that up to and including 2014. Streaming was used as well from 2015 onwards.
| 1999 | Mamma Mia! opens in London |
| 2004 | 30th Anniversary CD/DVD |
| 2008 | Mamma Mia! film released |
| 2010 | Special CD/DVD released |
| 2018 | Mamma Mia 2 released |
| 2021 | Release of Voyage |
First album to spend 1,000 weeks in UK Top 100
Comparison of "Gold" with other compilations. Official figures.
| Country | GOLD | Greatest Hits | More Gold |
| Australia | 1,190,000 | 1,100,000 | 70,000 |
| Canada | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | 100,000 |
| France | 1,000,000 | 300,000 | 300,000 |
| Germany | 2,500,000 | 750,000 | 250,000 |
| UK | 5,700,000 | 2,650,000 | 460,000 |
| US | 6,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 115,000 |
| 17,390,000 | 6,300,00 | 1,295,000 |
Greatest Hits - includes Best Of
More Gold - Australia's figures are for Complete Gold - a double album, GOLD and More Gold
From this I would project "Greatest Hits" to be on about 12m and More Gold on about 2.25m.