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Image: Top 20 Countries for Software Piracy and License Misuse

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We analyzed aggregated Compliance Intelligence customer data* (the number of unique machines using unpaid software in 2014) to identify the Top 20 countries using pirated or unlicensed software.

Rank Country Change in Rank Since 2013
1 China (no change)
2 Russia ↑ 4
3 United States (no change)
4 Ukraine ↑ 15
5 Taiwan ↓ 3
6 Italy ↑ 4
7 France ↑ 4
8 Mexico (new)
9 Germany ↓ 4
10 Turkey ↓ 3
11 Brazil (no change)
12 India ↓ 2
13 Hungary ↓ 1
14 Korea ↓ 10
15 Romania (new)
16 Spain ↓ 3
17 Poland (new)
18 United Kingdom ↓ 4
19 Canada ↓ 3
20 Australia (new)

Looking more closely at the data, we see some interesting points:

  • Although the United States maintained its position at #3 on our list, the actual commercial value of unlicensed software is higher in the US than China according to the BSA’s 2013 Global Software Survey with an unlicensed value of $9,737M
  • Seven EU countries are represented in the Top 20 (with three in the Top 10)
  • North America and the EU make up nearly half of the Top 20 and represent strong opportunities to convert unlicensed use to paying customers
  • All BRIC countries are represented in the Top 20 with China and Russia in the top two spots (the types of software being tracked likely have an impact on Brazil and India’s spots in the Top 20 – see caveat below)

Finally, one country that did not make the Top 20, but is interesting to note: Vatican City (also known as the “Holy See”) showed instances of unpaid use. We view this as further proof that even with the best intentions it is easy for users to become victims of software piracy without ever knowing they were using unlicensed software!

*Caveat: These findings are derived from unique machines running unlicensed software titles that range from desktop B2C to higher value B2B software in the engineering, CAD/CAM, and EDA markets. The data is biased toward larger CAD, PLM and EDA installed base deployments.