At the end of 2019 the total number of Internet users across the globe surpassed 4 billion people and it currently sits at about 4.5 billion (according to Internet World Stats as of March 2020). People use various devices for connecting to the Internet: desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones and even TVs. The variety of web browsers for surfing the online world is just as large. So which ones are the most popular?
Decades have passed since the inception of the first Internet browser in 1990. Compared to Nexus, modern web browsers have much more features, allowing users to do things that were unimaginable just 20 years ago. The market itself has become way more competitive: the number of accessible and free to use browsers is in the dozens. However, the absolute majority of them are only known among IT professionals. Regular users, on the other hand, are quite happy with the products from the top 10 list for their respective device types.
Global stats
According to Internet World Stats there are currently over 4.5 billion Internet users (4,574,150,134 to be exact). Regional distribution of these users is as follows:
- Asia 50.3 %
- Europe 15.9 %
- Africa 11.4 %
- Latin America / Caribbean 10.0 %
- North America 7.6 %
- Middle East 3.9 %
- Oceania / Australia 0.6 %
So what browsers do users choose in different regions?
Desktops and laptops
According to NetMarketShare stats published on 2 April 2020, Microsoft Edge was the second popular browser globally with 7.59%. On its way to the top it knocked Mozilla Firefox down from the second place it had been enjoying up until late February 2020 when its market share slipped to 7.19% compared to slightly over 9% it had the previous year (as of March 2019). First released in 2008 Google Chrome remains the absolute leader in the field of Internet surfing. As of March 2019 its market share was 67.9%, increasing to 68.5% over the next 12 months. The gap between Chrome and the runner-up is vast, and it’s unclear how Edge could ever close it even by a little bit.
The top-10 list of desktop browsers looks something like this:
- Google Chrome (68,5%),
- Edge (7,59%),
- Mozilla Firefox (7,19%),
- Internet Explorer (5.9%),
- Safari (3.6%),
- QQ (2,4%),
- Sogou Explorer (1,9%),
- Opera (1,15%),
- Yandex.browser (1%),
- UC Browser (0,42%).
Mobile
According to StatCounter as of March 2020, Google Chrome is the undisputed leader of the ladder as the most popular mobile web browsers of the world. It commands 61.5% of all usage. Apple’s Safari is coming second place with almost 25%, lagging behind by a factor of two. Samsung Internet ranks number three with 6.5%. Then come UC Browser, Opera and Android with 3.6%, 1.06% and 0.5% respectively
However, these figures markedly vary from country to country.
Asia
The total number of Internet users – 2.3 billion
The top five for browsers goes as follows: Chrome enjoys 67.48% of the market, Safari – 14.58% with UC Browser coming in next (7.31%); then Samsung Internet (6.07%) and Opera (1.76%). Slightly less than 1% of the market belongs to QQ Browser (0.81%).
Browser stats per region are as follows:
In China the data for March 2020 shows there are 854 million active users. Google Chrome is no less of a leader here (the undisputed share of 53%), then twice as less comes UC Browser (19.5%), third place is QQ (12.35%), Safari with 10.85% is on the fourth place. Among the losers are Android (fifth place, 2.8%) and Samsung Internet (sixth place with 0.8%).
India boasts an impressive 560 million users. Here we have Chrome as the leader – 72.33%. Runner-up is UC Browser – 17.68%. Then come Opera with 3.15% and Safari (2.91%). On the bottom we see Samsung Internet with 2.38% of the market, and an unusual face of KaiOS with 0.99%.
Europe
The total number of Internet users is over 727 million. The biggest browser in Europe is, unsurprisingly, Google Chrome with 61.2%, Safari ranks second with 27,5%, and the third place belongs to Samsung Internet (8.6%). Places 4 to 6 are occupied by Opera, Firefox and UC Browser with 0.65%, 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.
South America
The total number of Internet users is over 453 million.In South America, Chrome is not just the leader, it stomps the competition with its 84% share of the market. The closest competitor is Safari with 9% – almost nine times as little as the leader. Samsung Internet ranks third with 5.39%. The mobile browsers occupying places 4 through 6 in the South American rating (Android, Opera, Firefox) don’t have enough users to account for 1 full percent of the regional market.
North America
Total number of Internet users – over 349 million. Here Safari has the lead with 52.3% of the market, making Chrome second place with 41.12%. Ranked third is Samsung Internet (4.99%). Next are Firefox with 0.56%, then UC Browser and its 0.26%, then Android (0.22%)
When it comes to the United States of America, Safari is the entrenched leader. It commands an impressive 57.76% of the market share, however, its not that far ahead of the runner up – Google Chrome which controls 35.96% of the market. The third place belongs to Samsung Internet (4.69%), and the cumulative market share of browsers ranked 4 through 6 (Firefox, UC Browser, Android) is barely over 1%.
Africa
Total number of Internet users – over 526 million.71.23% of them on are browsing the web via Chrome. Ranked second is Safari (12.11%), third, unexpectedly, Opera, with 6.89%. Next in line is Samsung Internet (6.73%) and UC Browser (2.1%). The last browser to make the list is Android with just 0.62% of the market.
Australia
28 million people get to enjoy the Internet down under. Here Safari commands 49.89% of the market, but it’s not too far ahead of Google Chrome with its 40.13%. Samsung Internet with 7.65% is ranked third, then come Firefox (0.61%), Opera (0.5%) and UC Browser with a market share of 0.44%.
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