It rose for the second year running, from 38% of all software used to 41%, due largely to the increased rate of PC shipments in areas of asia that don't respect copyright, such as China and India.

Many countries are improving their piracy rates, said the study. Overall, the piracy rate dropped in about half of the countries surveyed, remained the same in a third of them, and rose in just 16 countries. That is a good sign, but it was not enough to avoid a general global economic loss from piracy.

Dollar losses across the entire software industry were up year-on-year by 11%, bringing total losses to US$53bn, according to the study. It added that for every US$1 of PC software sold in a country, there is a potential US$3-4 in revenues for local IT service and distribution firms.

Georgia was the country with the highest piracy rate, said the report, with Bangladesh and Armenia second and third on the list. The USA wasn't in the top 20. When it came to revenue losses from piracy, the USA was number one, with US$9.1bn in piracy-related losses. Russia had made significant headway in mitigating its piracy problem. Russia's piracy rate dropped from 73% last year to 68% this year, the report revealed.