Samsung Electronics Co. was the top vendor in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) smartphone market last year, a report showed Thursday, despite its market share declining.

Samsung shipped 99.7 million smartphones in the EMEA market in 2020 for a 28.9 percent market share, according to industry researcher International Data Corp. (IDC).

The figures were down from 2019 when the company shipped 118.5 million smartphones for a 32.9 percent market share. However, the South Korean tech giant was able to defend its top spot with solid performance in the European Android smartphone market, IDC said.

Apple Inc. was the runner-up with strong performance in the European market in the fourth quarter of 2020 on the back of its release of the new iPhone 12 series.

The US tech giant had a market share of 15.4 percent in 2020, up from 13.4 percent a year ago, after its iPhone shipments increased 10 percent on-year to 53.2 million units.

China's Transsion moved up to the No. 3 spot with a 13.6 percent market share after shipping 47 million smartphones last year, up 31.1 percent from a year ago.

Its Chinese compatriot Huawei Technologies Co. fell from the runner-up position to the fourth spot after its smartphone shipments plunged 35.8 percent on-year to 44 million units in 2020 due to US sanctions.

Xiaomi Corp. was ranked fifth with an 11.9 percent market share after its smartphone shipments soared 66.4 percent on-year to 41.1 million units in the EMEA market last year.

The overall EMEA smartphone market contracted 4.2 percent on-year to 345.2 million units last year due to the pandemic, with its market value declining 4.6 percent on-year to around $110 billion, according to IDC.

In Europe alone, IDC said the market saw a 4.9 percent on-year drop to 195.2 million units. (Yonhap)