RC: Rates in many countries are declining, albeit slowly. In 2013, rates in 79 countries dropped and rates increased in only 11 countries. However, the global rate rose one point to 43 percent in 2013 as the PC market continues to shift to emerging markets where rates are higher than the global average. The commercial value of unlicensed software dropped slightly to $62.7 billion as a function of generally lower prices in these regions. It should be noted that some countries made significant improvement and saw their rates decline by 3 points in 2013. Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India. Mexico, Serbia and Slovakia all registered reductions of 3 points. In the BRIC countries alone, the average rate dropped by 3 points in 2013 to 67 percent – an overall decline of 20 points since the study was launched 10 years ago.
Since emerging markets now comprise a steadily growing majority of the global PC market. Their rates of unlicensed software use are way above the global mean, so their rapid growth is tipping the global balance toward a higher average rate.