Desktop PC penetration in the United Kingdom (UK) 2009-2020

The share of United Kingdom households that own a desktop computer or iMac fell considerably from 2009 to 2020. In 2020, just 24 percent of households in the United Kingdom reported owning such a device, down from 56 percent in 2009.

The rise of the laptop

While the rate of households owning desktop computers has decreased, the overall rate of home computer ownership has increased steadily over the past three decades. Whereas just 13 percent of UK households owned a home computer in 1985, 88 percent of households in the UK reported owning a home computer in 2017/18. The increasing popularity of the laptop is further demonstrate by the soaring sales value of laptops, notebooks and palm-top organizers . The total value reached 58.79 billion British pounds in 2017, up from 39.84 billion British pounds in 2008.

Shipments tipped to fall

While the desktop computer has lost its position as the leader of home computers, manufacturers are still expected to ship 250.5 million units in 2023, worldwide. This represents a decline compared to the 254.4 million manufacturers are expected to ship by the end of 2019.