The global number of households with a computer in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 88.6 million households (+8.6 percent). After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the computer households is estimated to reach 1.1 billion households and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of households with a computer of was continuously increasing over the past years.Computer households are defined as households possessing at least one computer.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of households with a computer in countries like Caribbean and Africa.

The global household computer penetration in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 2.4 percentage points. After the eleventh consecutive increasing year, the computer penetration rate is estimated to reach 52.78 percent and therefore a new peak in 2029. Depicted is the estimated share of households owning at least one computer.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the household computer penetration in countries like Australia & Oceania and Caribbean.

In 2019, almost half of private households worldwide were estimated to have a computer at home. In developing countries, the PC penetration rate is lower with around a third of households having a computer. In contrast the share of households with a personal computer in developed countries was closer to 80 percent. In general, the share of households with a computer has steadily increased worldwide as computer usage and internet access is becoming more prevalent around the world.

PC sales declining despite higher penetration

As the share of households with a PC has been on the rise, so too were global PC unit sales have in recent years. This has come despite the still growing popularity and usage of smartphones which some analysts thought would render owning a PC as an additional device superfluous for many people. Segments of the PC market are increasing in sales value more than others: the amount of PC gaming device shipments worldwide is expected to reach over 61 million units by 2020. Worldwide gaming laptop sales alone have reached a revenue of 11 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. The gaming industry drives many innovations in PC design, as personal computers are often used for such focused tasks.

PC utilization

PCs have been used for many activities, such as watching online videos, playing computer games, and completing work tasks. Though computers or laptops are still among the most used devices to watch online videos among users worldwide, smartphones are now used more frequently in many different contexts. One of the advantages of using PCs was its connectivity, as internet usage was possible through the high-speed fixed broadband connections desktop computers offer. Yet now, with the advent of 5G technology, growing mobile broadband might decrease the stationary use of PCs even further.

In the third quarter of 2024, Lenovo ranked first among vendors in terms of PC shipments with roughly 16.5 million units, while HP Inc. shipped 13.6 million units in the first quarter of 2023. Both companies recorded an increase in the number of shipments as compared to the third quarter of the previous year.

This statistic illustrates the share of people who own a desktop PC in the United States as of 2022. The results were sorted by age. In 2022, 36 percent of respondents aged 18 to 29 years stated they own a desktop PC. The Statista Global Consumer Survey offers a global perspective on consumption and media usage, covering the offline und online world of the consumer.

A March 2024 survey found that 29 percent of adults in the United States played video games on a computer at least once per week. Weekly PC gaming was highest among respondents aged 35 to 54 years, and lowest among those aged 55 years and above.

The PC market is expected to observe rapid growth in the proportion of PCs capable of handling artificial intelligence (AI) directly on the device. As a result, AI PC shipments are forecast to grow from 43 million in 2024 to 114 million in 2025. A new era of computing In May 2024, Microsoft announced Copilot+ PCs, a new category of Windows PC designed for AI. Equipped with specialized AI chips, a growing market in itself, Copilot+ PCs form part of a wider AI PC market that is expected to revolutionize computing. Such is the desire for devices that support AI that manufacturers will be pushing AI PCs as their flagship products. An ideal boost to vendors AI PCs are timely, with the PC market having gone through a period of rebalance in the midst of a challenging time economically, resulting in a decline in shipments in 2023. While shipments began to show signs of recovery in early 2024, the introduction of PCs able to handle AI more effectively on-device should rejuvenate the market even further.

n 2013, the average installed base age of PCs in the United States was expected to reach around 3.99 years, with forecasts for 2024 suggesting this will rise slightly to 4.02 years. By 2027, this figure is expected to fall to 3.94 years in the United States.

This graph shows the results of a survey concerning the share of teenagers who owned a laptop or desktop PC in Germany from 2007 to 2023. In 2023, around 77 percent of boys and 68 percent of girls stated that they owned a computer or laptop.

In 2019, 36.1 percent of households in developing countries were estimated to have a computer at home, a slight increase from the previous year where 35.9 percent of households had a computer.

In 2024, Lenovo was the leading PC vendor in the world in terms of unit shipments, with 62.5 million PCs shipped. HP Inc. ranked second with 53.03 million PC unit shipments, while Dell came in at third on 39.45 million shipments.

The overall market leader in the global personal computer market in 2023 was Lenovo with a market share of 25.5 percent with HP Inc. in at second with a 21.6 percent share. In terms of unit shipments, Lenovo recorded 62.5 million, while HP Inc. had around 53.03 million.

In 2020, there were an estimated 1.75 billion PC gamers worldwide, up from 1.5 billion PC gaming users in the previous year. Despite slowing revenue growth, PC gaming remains very popular and digital storefronts like Steam or the Epic Games Store making PC gaming titles accessible for gamers worldwide.

Lenovo shipped 16.96 million personal computers during the last quarter of 2024, surpassing HP's 13.72 million shipments in that same quarter and retaining its position as market leader. Dell occupies the third place on the list, shipping nearly 10 million PCs. There is a growing trend of consolidation, with HP, Lenovo, and Dell taking up an increasing PC market share. Vendors shifting away from traditional PCs The nature of the PC market is changing, as many vendors are gravitating towards the expanding software industry. A predominate adaptation strategy is to incorporate new technologies into the PC experience. For example, Dell Technologies, which has a market share of around 15 to 20 percent, is prioritizing enterprise software and cloud solutions, and a new direction for its PC design by including virtual and artificial intelligence technologies into Dell Workstations. HP is responding to the changing market environment by focusing on developing its product line of premium devices for gaming ecosystems. Lenovo’s response has been developing devices specifically for corporate use, as well as integrating virtual reality headsets into their line of computers. Changing nature of personal computing The type of computing hardware preferred by consumers has shifted significantly, as portable devices become more durable, more capable, and more affordable. Desktop-PCs – once a must for any user that intended to purposefully use their device for work or play – are the biggest victim of this shift. In 2010, desktop PC shipments reached 157 million units, a figure that is expected to fall to 70 million by 2025. Tablets have filled the hole left by declining PC sales, rising from 19 million units shipped in 2010, to an expected 140 million in 2025.

In 2024, approximately 245.36 million PCs were shipped around the world, an increase from 2023's results. Worldwide PC shipments have been declining since 2021.

According to a survey conducted in 2022 in the United States, over half of the respondents owned a laptop, desktop or PC in every age group surveyed. In contrast to patterns for other consumer electronic devices, a greater share of respondents aged over 55 had these devices compared to younger age groups.

Four recent versions of Windows - 11, 10, 8.1, and 7 - were among the leading PC operating systems in Bulgaria in March 2024. Apple's PC operating system, Mac OS X, held a 3.79 percent share of the market.

Microsoft's Windows was the leading computer operating system in the United States as of January 2025, with a market share of roughly 63 percent. Apple's macOS commanded a market share of over 21 percent, a decline compared to the previous year.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, HP Inc. shipped 4.5 million PCs in the United States, while Dell shipped 3.75 million PCs in the U.S. in the same quarter. As a result, HP occupied 26.1 percent of the U.S. PC market during the quarter.

The share of households in Japan that own a personal computer stood at 65.3 percent in 2023. While the household penetration rate of PCs declined in recent years, the household penetration rate of smartphones increased considerably during the same period.