The personal computing devices market (which comprises desktops, notebooks, workstations and tablets) has recorded its first year-on-year growth in 19 quarters, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).

The IDC said its Quarterly PCD Tracker shows that 5.3 million units were shipped across the region in Q3 2019, an increase of 5.5% on Q3 2018.

While Turkey was identified as the primary driver, according to Fouad Charakla, IDC's senior research manager for client devices in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, another key driver was a huge tablet deal delivered into Kenya's government sector.

"....made up of more than 150,000 tablets primarily for the purpose of conducting the country's national population census. Saudi Arabia also experienced significant year-on-year growth as shipments in the corresponding quarter of 2018 suffered drastically due to the implementation of new import regulations by the Saudi government around that time," reads part of a statement released by the IDC.

Nigeria was another driver of growth in Q3 2019 as the country continues its gradual recovery from the economic struggles it has been experiencing for the past couple of years, the IDC conbtinues. Meanwhile the region's other key markets - namely South Africa, the UAE, and Egypt – all experienced year-on-year declines in PCD shipments.

In the PC segment, the top three vendors cemented their positions after each recording year-on-year growth in their shipments. HP continued to lead by a significant margin, with Lenovo and Dell placing second and third, respectively.

Looking ahead, the market's growth trajectory is expected to be short-lived, with IDC forecasting a 10.0% year-on-year decline in PCD shipments for the MEA region in Q4 2019.

"The main cause of this downturn is that there will be no repeat of the massive education deal that was delivered in Egypt in Q4 2018. Another factor is the weakening demand for slate tablets as a growing number of end users across the region shift their usage from slate tablets to smartphones. This will lead to year-on-year declines in key markets such as Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE, although Turkey will once again see growth as the country continues its path to recovery from the slowdown experienced last year," the statement continued.

In September 2019, the IDC reported a 9.1% decline in year-on-year growth in Q2 2019, with 5.1 million units shipped.

The decline rooted primarily from tablets said Charakla at the time. "While tablets still account for the highest volume share of all PCD categories, they are continuing to lose popularity at a steady pace. Weakening consumer demand was the main cause of the overall slowdown seen in the region."

IDC's research shows that the biggest decline in the MEA PCD market was seen in the Rest of Middle East (RoME) sub-region, of which Iran accounts for the highest volumes.