For years, newspapers and print magazines thought they could bolster their declining print circulation numbers with international sales, as other countries like India and China still had thriving print markets. But that may be changing.

The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circulation recently published data indicating that print sales may have peaked in 2011 in BRIC and developing countries, and now is on the decline. Countries as varied as Romania, Spain, India and China (the latter two of which have a combined population over 2 billion) all reported declines in print newspaper sales.

Which means that the shift to digital in these markets is happening NOW. And its likely that shift will bypass desktop access and jump straight to mobile, as smartphones are giving previously huge numbers of people previously deprived of Internet access a quick and cheap way to logon.

But that also means that the answer to our own question is no; international markets may not be ready for paywalls, which are best employed for desktop, website-based content. What they are ready for is digital subscriptions to mobile- and tablet-friendly content.

You can find out more about international market trends for the paid content industry, including preferred payment methods, in our upcoming Online Subscription Benchmark Report 2013. Reserve your copy today!

Image: (c) shaire productions via flickr.