TORONTO — Canada's software piracy rate dropped below the worldwide rate to place Canada among the 20 countries in the world with the lowest software piracy rates, a study released Tuesday said.

The study by the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said Canada's software piracy rate decreased three percentage points from 36 per cent to 33 per cent in 2005, falling below the worldwide piracy rate, which remained stable at 35 per cent.

Losses to the Canadian economy due to software piracy were $943 million, down $166 million from 2004, the groups said in a release.

The independent study, conducted by global market research and forecasting firm IDC, showed some improvements in a number of markets, the groups said.

The results indicate anti-piracy education, enforcement and policy efforts are beginning to pay off in emerging economies such as China, Russia, India, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

However, losses from software piracy worldwide amounted to $41 billion in 2005, an increase of $752 million over the previous year, the study found.

"It's encouraging to see progress being made in reducing Canada's software piracy rate and how it is approaching the rates found in countries such as the U.K., Germany and Australia," CAAST president Jacquie Famulak said Tuesday in a release.

But more than one out of every three copies of PC software put into use in Canada in 2005 was still obtained illegally, Famulak noted.

Piracy rates decreased moderately in more than half of the 97 countries included in this year's study, and increased in only 19.