Taipei, Jan. 16 (CNA) Taiwan-based Acer Inc. remained the world's fifth largest PC brand in 2020 while increasing its global share with a 23 percent increase in shipments from a year earlier, according to global market advisory International Data Corp. (IDC).

In a research report, IDC said the global PC market got a significant boost from the booming stay-at-home economy, featuring more online learning and remote working amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Acer was among the biggest beneficiaries.

The report said Acer shipped 20.99 million PCs in 2020, up 22.9 percent from a year earlier, giving it a 6.9 percent share in the global market compared with a 6.4 percent share in 2019.

Worldwide, PC shipments totaled 302.61 million units in 2020, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier, according to IDC.

"Demand is pushing the PC market forward and all signs indicate this surge still has a way to go," IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers program vice president Ryan Reith said in a statement.

"The obvious drivers for last year's growth centered around work from home and remote learning needs, but the strength of the consumer market should not be overlooked.

"We continue to see gaming PCs and monitor sales at all-time highs and Chrome-based devices are expanding beyond education into the consumer market. In retrospect, the pandemic not only fueled PC market demand but also created opportunities that resulted in a market expansion," Reith said.

China's Lenovo Group Ltd. took the top spot in 2020 with a 24.0 percent market share after shipping 72.67 million PCs, up 12.0 percent from a year earlier, IDC said.

U.S.-based HP Inc. came in second with a 22.4 percent share, after its shipments rose 7.5 percent to 67.65 million PCs in 2020.

Another American brand, Dell Inc., saw its shipments rise 8.1 percent to 50.30 million units, giving it a 16.6 percent share.

Of the top five PC sellers, Apple, which finished 2020 with a 7.6 percent share on shipments of 23.10 million PCs, posted the fastest growth in shipments for the year at 29.1 percent, IDC said.

In the fourth quarter alone, global PC shipments rose 26.1 percent year-on-year to 91.60 million units, IDC said.

Lenovo led the industry with a 25.2 percent share during the quarter, followed by HP's 20.9 percent, Dell's 17.2 percent, Apple's 8 percent, and Acer's 7.2 percent.

Apple and Acer saw their shipments in the fourth quarter rise 49.2 percent and 48.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, IDC said.