Egypt and Nigeria are expected to be among 2014’s fastest growing PC markets in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

According to an IDC graph, Egypt’s PC market grew 35.78% from the second quarter of 2013 to the same period in 2014. The IDC graph further highlights how Nigeria’s PC market grew 14.87% in the same period.

Egypt and Nigeria are therefore outpacing PC growth in MEA, as the region’s growth clocked 2.2% to reach 4.5 million for the second quarter in 2014.

According to the IDC this is the first time in seven successive quarters of year-on-year declines that MEA recorded any growth regarding the PC market.

The IDC report states that there has been growth in both the desktop and portable product categories.

Desktop shipments in the region recorded growth of 2.9% year-on-year to reach 1.8 million units, while the portable product categories increased by 1.7% to 2.7 million units over the same period, states the IDC.

Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Turkey, and Africa says the biggest growth in PC shipments was witnessed in the ‘Rest of Middle East’ sub-region.

This sub-region comprises Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, and Afghanistan.

"Other countries to experience growth in the region during Q2 of 2014 included Saudi Arabia and emerging markets such as Pakistan and parts of Africa," Charakla said.

"The healthy shipments seen in most countries can either be attributed to a recovery from instability be it economic, political, or social or to previously low PC penetration rates. Bearing this in mind, Egypt and Nigeria are expected to be among the region's fastest growing PC markets for the year 2014," he stated.

The IDC further forecasts that the region's PC market would experience another quarter of year-on-year growth in Q3 of 2014, with shipments increasing 10.6% to total 4.6 million units.

IDC forecasts year-on-year growth for 2014 overall at 1.6%, although demand is expected to remain close to flat for the years 2015 and beyond.

Meanwhile, the IDC noted a PC rebound in mature markets like Europe, the United States, and Canada, which showed the strongest growth and reflected more stable conditions.

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 74.4 million units in the second quarter of 2014. However, this was still a year-on-year decline of 1.7%, according to the IDC.

The IDC noted that continued business PC replacements and returning consumer interest, the results for Q2 of 2014 were still better than the projected decline of 7.1% for the quarter.