Singapore is forecast to have the highest number of personal computers (PCs) per 1,000 people in the Asia-Pacific region by 2012, an information-technology research firm said on Friday.
Gartner Inc projected the city-state would have 4.5 million installed desktop and laptop PCs, or 948 for every 1,000 individuals. Australia was forecast to trail Singapore with 888 PCs per 1,000 people, and Hong Kong was next with 793.
The country with the highest PC penetration in the Asia-Pacific this year is Australia, expected to have 776 PCs per 1,000 people by the end of the year. Singapore was likely to emerge second in the region with 707 PCs per 1,000 people, Gartner said.
Norway, with 993 installed PCs per 1,000 people, has the highest penetration so far this year, followed by Denmark, the United States and Switzerland.
China was ranked 42nd with 122 PCs per 1,000 people, the Philippines 46th with 89, Vietnam 47th with 78, Indonesia 48th with 37 and India 49th with 36. The total number of PCs in use world-wide should hit the two billion mark by 2014, Gartner said. The research firm estimated the world-wide installed base of PCs is growing at just under 12 percent annually. The bulk of PCs are currently found in mature markets, such as the United States, Japan and Western European countries.
Mature markets have 58 per cent of the world's installed PCs although they have only 15 per cent of the population, the report said. The "startling difference" in per-capita PC penetration between mature and emerging markets reflected the disparity in living standards, Gartner noted.
The trend is shifting, however, as the emerging markets experience double-digit PC growth. "We expect per-capita PC penetration in emerging markets to double by 2013," said Gartner's report.
Growth is being fuelled by broadband and wireless connectivity, falling PC prices and the realisation that "PCs are an indispensable tool for advancement," it said.
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