WASHINGTON, DC - Business Software Alliance (BSA), the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world, announced in a press release on May 23, 2006 that software piracy levels in the Middle East have declined in 2005, with the UAE leading the way with the lowest piracy rate in the region.
Piracy rate in the Middle East dropped one percentage point last year to 57 percent, while the global piracy rate has remained unchanged at 35 percent, according to an independent study released by BSA. The study was conducted by IDC (International Data Corporation), the IT industry’s leading global market research and forecasting firm.
“The study shows that the Middle East and Africa region has made substantial progress in tackling the problem of software piracy, with piracy rates dropping in as many as 19 of the 26 countries in the region. Government support to anti-piracy campaigns has been crucial to making this possible,” said Mr. Jawad Al Redha, co-chairman of BSA Middle East.
The UAE has posted the lowest piracy rate in the region for the 10th consecutive year, and is the only Middle East entry to the list of 20 nations with the lowest piracy rates. In fact, the UAE’s piracy level of 34 percent is lower than that of several European countries, such as France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland, and is comparable to the piracy rates of the United Kingdom (27 percent), the Netherlands (30 percent) and Australia (31 percent).
Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman showed considerable decline in piracy, while in other Middle Eastern countries the piracy level remained relatively stable. Among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Qatar’s piracy rate dropped from 62 percent in 2004 to 60 percent in 2005, while that of Saudi Arabia remained unchanged at 52 percent. Kuwait also witnessed a two-percentage point reduction in piracy, from 68 percent to 66 percent, whereas in Oman, piracy dropped from 63 percent to 62 percent.
A significant aspect of the findings of the BSA study is that 51 of the 97 countries covered in the study witnessed a drop in piracy in 2005. In addition, positive movement in a number of markets indicates education and enforcement efforts are paying off in emerging economies such as Brazil, China, Russia and India and in Central/Eastern Europe and the Middle East & Africa.