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[UPDATE: Read our 2018 Report here]

We analyzed aggregated Compliance Intelligence data (the number of unique machines using unpaid software) as of March 2017 to identify the Top 20 countries using pirated or unlicensed software:

Rank Country Change in Rank Since 2015
1 China (no change)
2 United States ↑1
3 Iran ↑1
4 Russia ↓2
5 India (no change)
6 Vietnam (no change)
7 Italy ↑1
8 Germany ↓1
9 Turkey ↑1
10 Korea ↑4
11 Brazil ↓2
12 France ↓1
13 United Kingdom ↑4
14 Indonesia ↑1
15 Pakistan ↑4
16 Taiwan ↓4
17 Ukraine ↓4
18 Spain (no change)
19 Mexico ↓3
20 Algeria (new)

Drilling down into the data reveals some interesting observations:

  • The United States rose to #2 on our list, but the actual commercial value of unlicensed software in the U.S. ($9,095M) is higher than China (#1 with a commercial value of $8,657M) according to the BSA’s 2016 Global Software Survey.
  • Five EU countries are represented in the Top 20 (with two in the Top 10)
  • North America and the EU represent strong opportunities to convert unlicensed use to paying customers
  • All BRIC countries are represented in the Top 20
  • Iran’s move up to #3 is likely the result of easing of sanctions in January 2016 and the appearance of new Iran-based piracy portals in 2016
  • Russia’s move down to #4 suggests an impact of President Vladimir Putin’s calls for more digital sovereignty

Revulytics 2017 Software Piracy Statistics