It seems there is a very strong correlation between software piracy and GDP per capita. This may point to a cause for software piracy, namely that many people simply can't afford the software they need or want.
In Armenia buying Microsift office would set you back roughly 1.2 months pay. (rough numbers here: office $500, Armenian GDP per capita $4900 according to wikipedia)
This reminds me of how international editions of books are sold at discount rates to match local economies. Also, DVD region encoding. There doesn't seem to be any equivalent for commercial software.
Yes I agree. I just want to emphasize the "causation" effect because people here generally dislike piracy but they don't have a choice. The price is so expensive. It's either we pirate it or we don't use it at all.
I don't think that it's a direct correlation. It's more about culture and knowledge. Most of armenians, azerbaijans and moldovans don't even KNOW that software can be bought.
PC by itself is a huge amount of money for them (and many of them get it free from rich relatives that make money in Moscow, Europe or US) and everything that is inside is considered already overpriced.
In Armenia buying Microsift office would set you back roughly 1.2 months pay. (rough numbers here: office $500, Armenian GDP per capita $4900 according to wikipedia)