There are over 1 billion PCs running in the world at this point, said Gartner, and the number is likely to double itself in the next few year.
According to the estimations of the analyst firm, the growth of the PCs base revolves is around12% a year and if this keeps up at the same pace we'll see it pass the 2 billion milestone by 2014.
"Whereas mature markets accounted for just under 60 per cent of the first billion installed PCs, we expect emerging markets to account for approximately 70 per cent of the next billion installed PCs," said Luis Anavitarte, research vice president at Gartner. "Emerging market governments are also increasingly committed to reducing the digital divide by promoting PC use among their citizens through a variety of means, including providing PCs directly to the less affluent."
58% of the installed user base is in US, Europe and Japan, the mature markets of the world. Ironic (and a bit sad) enough, the markets only account for 15% of the world's population
While the numbers will keep growing, Gartner stresses out that this not all good news. The constant need for better machines already has a strong impact on the environment and the future looks anything but bright:
“We forecast just over 180 million PCs — approximately 16 percent of the existing installed base — will be replaced this year,” said Meike Escherich, principal research analyst at Gartner. ”We estimate a fifth of these, or some 35 million PCs, will be dumped into landfill with little or no regard for their toxic content. The disposition of retired PCs has become a high-profile issue for many PC vendors, governments and environmental interest groups. It will become an even more pressing issue, especially in emerging markets, as the number of retired PCs grows with the continuing expansion of the PC installed base.”
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