In 2023, an astonishing 141 billion visits to pirate sites were recorded worldwide, underscoring a significant global trend. To better understand these shifts, let’s explore how piracy patterns are evolving in various countries. Canada has emerged as a key hotspot for piracy, while Brazil is witnessing a decline. Additionally, certain regions are experiencing rapid growth in piracy activities.

Recent data from MUSO and Kearney highlights the global expansion of video piracy. Although the full report was not yet available at the time of writing, the existing data provides valuable insights.

Classifying Countries by Piracy Trends
The report includes a detailed graph that categorizes countries based on their per capita visits to pirate sites and the changes observed from 2018 to 2023. This categorization offers a clear comparison and identifies where piracy presents the greatest challenges.

Countries are grouped into four distinct categories:

• Hotspots: High and increasing visits to pirate sites per capita
• Recovering: High visits per capita with declining trends
• Growth Risk: Low visits per capita but rapidly increasing
• Positive Sign: Low visits per capita with declining trends

In the visual representation, piracy hotspots are located in the top right quadrant, while growth risks are in the top left.

Canada vs. Brazil
According to the data, Canada is identified as a piracy hotspot, with a substantial number of visits per capita (+90), and a 50% increase from 2018 to 2023. Other hotspots include Sweden, Hong Kong, and Qatar, while Singapore records the highest visits per capita but with a lower growth rate compared to other hotspots.

Conversely, Brazil shows a decline in piracy activity, likely influenced by extensive anti-piracy measures, although the decline is less pronounced compared to other countries.

Growth Risks (Including the U.S.)
The bottom right quadrant, representing growth risks, includes countries where broadband access has grown significantly. India, Nigeria, and Ghana lead this category, each with a growth rate exceeding 100%. Interestingly, the United States, which has historically led in absolute piracy traffic, is also classified as a growth risk due to a rising piracy rate per capita.

Conclusion
This graph offers a clear overview of global trends in visits to video pirate sites across different countries. Observing these trends over time will be crucial to understanding future shifts in piracy behavior.