Top 20 Countries for Software Piracy and License Misuse (2017)

[UPDATE: Read our 2018 Report here]

We analyzed aggregated Revulytics 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: 

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