Operating Systems (Global Market)

2024

The most popular OS in the world

At the end of 2024, various versions of Windows operating systems occupied almost three quarters of the global market for software platforms for personal computers. Moreover, Microsoft is strengthening its position in this segment. This is stated in a study by StatCounter, the results of which TAdviser got acquainted with in early February 2025.

By the end of 2024, it is estimated that the total share of different Windows operating systems on a global scale reached 73.38%. For comparison, a year earlier this figure was 72.72%. Against this background, the macOS platform, which is used on Apple computers, is losing ground: if in 2023 it occupied 16.38% of the global market, then a year later - 14.16%. The share of operating systems with the Linux kernel rose year-on-year from 3.83% to 4.13%. Chrome OS weakened from 2.42% to 1.89%. During the study, StatCounter analysts were unable to determine the OS type by about 6.43% of personal computers with an Internet connection. At the same time, the share of FreeBSD and other operating systems fluctuates around zero.

If we consider various versions of Windows, then as of the end of 2024, Windows 10 is the most popular with a 62.7% share. A year earlier, the figure was higher - 67.42%. At the same time, against the background of the upcoming end of support for this platform in October 2025, the popularity of Windows 11 is growing: its share over the year increased from 26.54% to 34.12%. Analysts believe that the forced transition to Windows 11 could push hundreds of millions of computer users around the world to update their devices. In addition, by the end of 2024, in the total volume of Windows computers, approximately 2.41% used Windows 7. Windows 8.1 is installed on 0.3% of such machines, and Windows XP, released in 2001, is 0.24% used. Another 0.23% are other editions of Microsoft OS, including Windows 8.

In Russia, by the end of 2024, Windows operating systems occupied 87.58% of the market. For comparison, a year earlier this figure was 87.77%. Thus, over the year, the prevalence of Microsoft platforms in the Russian Federation decreased slightly. At the same time, macOS increased its share from 5.29% to 5.61%. Linux's position, according to StatCounter, strengthened from 2.15% to 2.38%. However, judging by the published statistics, the popularity of Linux in Russia is not as high as in the whole world as a whole. At the same time, the use of Chrome OS, FreeBSD and other platforms in the Russian PC segment is close to zero. Another 4.41% of computers could not determine the type of OS installed.

Among various editions of Windows in Russia, as well as around the world, Windows 10 dominates, the share of which at the end of 2024 was 76.47%. Moreover, this figure decreased slightly over the year: at the end of 2023, it was estimated at 76.97%. At the same time, the share of Windows 11 on an annualized basis jumped from 12.62% to 18.07%. This happened due to the weakening of the position of Windows 7, the prevalence of which almost halved - from 8% to 4.1%. Another 0.66% fell on Windows 8.1, approximately 0.38% - on Windows XP, 0.25% - on Windows 8.

In general, StatCounter data indicate a steady trend towards PC users switching to Windows 11. This platform requires TPM 2.0, and therefore requires hardware upgrades in many cases, which drives sales of personal computers globally. Analysts expect the pace of transition to Windows 11 to accelerate in 2025.^[1]

Free OS for learning, creativity and Endless OS has been released

In mid-June 2024, Endless OS Foundation announced the release of a public version of the free OS for learning, creating and working Endless OS. This OS provides a complete set of tools for working right from the moment of installation, including Endless Key for study and research, LibreOffice office suite, Chromium browser, Decibels audio player, Videos video player and a number of other specialized programs. Read more here.

Linux's share in the global OS market for the first time exceeded 4%

As of February 2024, the share of platforms with the Linux kernel in the global operating systems market for personal computers for the first time exceeded 4% and amounted to approximately 4.03%. For comparison, a year earlier this figure was 2.94%. Such data in early March 2024 leads the analytical service Statcounter.

It is noted that these figures do not take into account the share of Chrome OS - the Google software platform, which is also based on the Linux kernel. In February 2024, Chrome OS occupied 2.27% of the global PC OS market. Thus, in general, regular Linux systems and Chrome OS accounted for a total of 6.3% of the market in question. One of the reasons for the growing popularity of Linux is that users around the world are more willing to switch to free software. In addition, the ecosystem of this OS continues to develop constantly.

𝓲

Фото: Statcounter

The most common OS for personal computers remains Windows with 72.17% as of February 2024. A year earlier, these platforms held 71.78%. In second place is macOS, whose share for the year decreased from 16.26% to 15.42%.

If we consider the Russian market, then the share of Linux in February 2024 reached 2.34% against 2.07% a year earlier. In the Russian Federation, against the background of the current geopolitical situation, there is an active import substitution of software, including the introduction of domestic platforms with the Linux kernel. However, Windows continues to be the most popular with an indicator of approximately 86.82%. Moreover, according to Statcounter, in February 2023 this value was 82.09%. At the same time, macOS is losing ground in Russia: the share of the Apple platform on an annualized basis decreased from 7.74% to 5.22%. The prevalence of Chrome OS in the Russian market is low - only 0.02%, and this figure has not changed over the year.^[2]

2023

Growth in the global IoT OS market to $0.6 billion

In 2023, expenses in the global market of operating systems for the Internet of Things (IoT) amounted to about $0.6 billion. The need for such platforms is growing steadily, which is explained by the rapid development of the IoT ecosystem as a whole. Industry trends are addressed in the Market Research Future survey published in early December 2024.

IoT operating systems are specialized software platforms designed to manage and control a huge number of all kinds of devices. These operating systems are optimized for scalability and performance with limited computing resources. Such systems are applied in a variety of sectors, including smart homes, industrial automation, health care and transportation. For example, in smart housing, IoT systems control thermostats and surveillance cameras, in industrial conditions - automation and monitoring tools.

The distribution of connected devices in various industries is the main driver of the IoT operating systems market. As such hardware becomes more common, demand for specialized software platforms grows exponentially. The increasing need for real-time processing and peripheral computing is another significant driver for the industry. IoT operating systems provide device-level information processing, reducing latency and improving overall infrastructure efficiency. This is particularly important in applications such as autonomous vehicles and industrial control systems.

Cybersecurity issues are also driving the market. As the number of IoT devices increases, the potential area for cyber attacks is expanding. Against this background, the developers are focused on introducing new security features.

But there are also deterrents. The IoT ecosystem is highly fragmented: there are numerous protocols and devices operating on different platforms. This fragmentation can create compatibility problems and hinder seamless integration. IoT operating systems, as noted, should support a wide range of hardware and communication standards, which complicates development and may limit their effectiveness. This lack of standardization leads to increased costs and slower implementation. In addition, many IoT devices, especially those designed for low-power applications, have limited computing resources. Therefore, deep OS optimization is needed to ensure the right balance between functionality and hardware requirements.

The study says that the most common platform in the market under consideration is Windows 10 IoT. From a geographical point of view, North America is leading thanks to the developed infrastructure of the Internet of Things and the presence of many large IT companies. Among the significant players in the industry are named:

• Google;
• Apple;
• BlackBerry;
• Arm;
• Wittenstein;
• Mentor Graphics Corporation;
• Green Hills Software;
• Sysgo AG;
• Microsoft;
• Wind River;
• Silicon Labs;
• Kaspersky Lab;
• Canonical.

At the end of 2024, revenue in the segment of operating systems for the Internet of Things is estimated at $0.74 billion. Market Research Future analysts believe that in the future, the CAGR will be 20.55%. As a result, costs globally could increase to $3.3 billion by 2032.^[3]

Global Servers OS Market Growth by 12% to $17.3 Billion

In 2023, costs in the global server operating systems market amounted to $17.3 billion. For comparison, a year earlier, the volume of the industry was estimated at $15.5 billion. Thus, growth was recorded at 12%. The sector is showing steady positive dynamics, as stated in the Market Research Future review, published in early December 2024.

One of the major drivers of the market is the continued development of cloud platforms and data center infrastructures. Cloud providers and data center operators around the world are actively increasing capacity by adding servers and storage systems. This requires reliable and efficient Servers OS to manage resources and support different workloads. These software platforms offer specialized tools for optimal performance, scalability, and security. As enterprises and organizations continue to move their operations to the cloud, the demand for modern Servers OS is growing. This trend is particularly pronounced in sectors dominated by data-intensive tasks.

The integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools has a positive impact on the industry. These technologies automate specific tasks, optimize resource allocation, and improve data efficiency. AI algorithms can predict and manage system loads, improve security features by intelligently detecting threats, and support real-time analytics. Server operating systems with AI tools are becoming more and more popular in various areas.

The growing focus on cybersecurity is another factor driving the Servers OS market. As cyber threats become more complex, the need for secure platforms increases. Today's OS includes advanced security features to protect sensitive data and maintain system integrity. Tools such as improved access control, encryption, and intrusion detection become an integral part of server systems.

By OS type, the market is segmented into Windows, Linux, Unix and other platforms. Market Research Future estimates that various Linux variants are in the lead. Industry leading players are investing heavily in R&D to empower their products. Among the significant representatives of the market are named:

• Microsoft;
• Red Hat;
• IBM;
• Google;
• Amazon Web Services (AWS);
• Fujitsu;
• NEC;
• Apple;
• NPE;
• Dell;
• Canonical.

Geographically, it dominates North America thanks to the developed infrastructure of data centers and significant investments in the technology sector. In addition, the sites of the leading cloud providers are concentrated here - Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and. Google Cloud The Asia-Pacific region, driven by digitalization and government initiatives, is experiencing the fastest growth rate. To Europe The industry is also expanding, which is explained by the digital transformation of the business, which is accompanied by the transfer of workloads to the cloud, the introduction of AI solutions and analytics tools. big data

Market Research Future experts believe that in the future, the CAGR in the global server operating systems market will be 12.2%. Thus, by 2032, costs on a global scale, according to the presented estimates, can reach $43.6 billion.^[4]

2021: Windows 10 dominates computers

The most popular operating systems on computers in the world by year in the video below.

2017

Share of Windows 10 - 33%, Windows 7 - 43%

By the end of 2017, Windows 10 could not get ahead of Windows 7 and become the most popular computer operating system in the world. This is evidenced by the data of the NetMarketShare service, which takes into account the data of 160 million unique users viewing more than 40 thousand web resources around the world.

At the end of December 2017, Windows 10 was installed on almost 33% of desktops and laptops on a global scale against 23% a year earlier. The share of Windows 7, although it decreased over the year - from 47.7% to 43.1%, still remained higher than the fresher platform.

Dynamics of changes in computer OS shares, NetMarketShare data

In November 2017, Microsoft announced the use of Windows 10 for 600 million devices. We are talking about devices that people actively use at least once a month. Such electronics include computers, tablets, smartphones, Xbox One game consoles, HoloLens glasses and 84-inch Surface Hub all-in-ones.

Earlier, Microsoft predicted that by 2017-2018 there will be more than 1 billion devices in the world that will use the Windows 10 operating system. However, the company subsequently abandoned this forecast.

By the end of 2017, Windows XP had 5.2% of the PC operating systems market compared to 9.3% in 2016. The presence rate of Windows 8.1 decreased from 7.25% to 5.7%.

All versions of Windows by December 31, 2017 are installed on 88.5% of personal computers in the world. The shares of macOS and Linux amounted to only 9% and 2.1%, respectively.

The StatCounter service, which takes into account more than 15 billion web page views on 3 million sites, cites the following statistics: by the end of December 2017, 82.7% of computers in the world worked under Windows, 13% on macOS. About 89% of Russian PC users choose Windows, and among them owners of Windows 7 equipment are in the lead, the share of which exceeded 50%. The second place in distribution was taken by Windows 10 with a result of 31.5%, the third - Windows 8.1 (8.9%). Next are Windows XP (5.3%) and Windows 8 (2.6%).^[5]

End of an era: Windows is no longer the most massive OS on the Internet

The website, StatCounter which specializes in analyzing web traffic, published in the spring of 2017 the data of the world rating of the use of operating systems. As it turned out, in March 2017, according to statistics of use Internet in aggregate on desktop PCs, laptops tablets and smartphones, mobile for the OS Android first time in history overtook the OS Windows^[6]

According to researchers, in March 2017, Andoid occupied 37.93% of the Internet market, while Windows - 37.91%. Next in the ranking is iOS.

Some operating systems unknown to analysts occupied 2.85% of the market (most of all their users are in the African Republic of Mali and Papua New Guinea), and Linux OS - 0.75%.

In February 2017, according to StatCounter, 38.6% of Internet users worked on Windows, and 37.4% on Android.

The map compiled by experts also contains data on the use of the OS by residents of the territory of Russia. Russian users prefer to go online via Windows (70.28%), Android (13.76%), iOS (7.72%), OS X (5.08%) and "unknown operating systems" - 1.82%.

Analysts note that Windows still dominates the global market for operating desktop systems - PCs and laptops - 84% of Internet visitors use the OS on these devices. "Windows won the war for dextops, but the battlefield has changed," summed up the head of StatCounter.

According to analysts, Windows is the strongest in the North American market, where it has retained leadership on all platforms - its share was 39.5%, followed by iOS (25.7%) and Android (21.2%).

In Europe, Windows almost doubles Android - 51.7% versus 23.6%. For obvious reasons, Android's position was strongest in Asia. Here, the mobile OS occupies 52.2% compared to 29.2% of Windows.

2012

January 2012

Windows XP from Microsoft again lost a large market share in December 2011, as users continued the transition operating system from a decade ago to. Windows 7

According to Net Applications, with an average arithmetic of 46.5%, Windows XP lost 2.4 percentage points by the end of December, which was another low for the "elderly" OS. This monthly drop almost completely corresponds to the October mark of 2.5 points. Within four months, from September to December, as of September 1, XP lost more than 11%, falling by almost six percentage points during this period.

Over the previous four months - from May to August, XP lost only 3.4 points or about 8.5% of the share it owned as of May 1. Windows 7 benefited from the fall in XP's share, it was she who was the beneficiary of this decline, gaining 2.4 percentage points last month and reaching a share of 37%. And during the four months when XP lost 5.9 points, Windows 7 grew by 6.4 points, choosing to play not only this old OS, but also Windows Vista.

If the current trend repeats, in January Windows XP will lose even more: in 2009 and 2010, the share of XP fell by 40% -48% more in January, compared to the previous month. This was probably due to the purchase at the end of the year of new PCs equipped with Windows 7. Given this, this month the share of XP may fall by another 3.5 points.

The growing number of failures to use XP proves that users received a signal from Microsoft that this operating system should be forgotten. In July, Microsoft made it clear to customers: "it's time to move on," reminding everyone that support for this OS will be discontinued in April 2014. Before that, the Internet Explorer development team, explaining why it would not run IE9 on XP, rated this OS as the "lowest common denominator."

Two months ago, Microsoft quietly celebrated the 10th anniversary of the launch of XP at retail, to promote Windows 7 and roll back XP launched an advertising company under the motto: "Who does not go forward, backs up." Of the 12.4 percentage points XP has lost in the last 12 months, nearly half have lost in the last four. This means that the hasty weakening of XP will change the date it loses its leading place in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Forecasts based on Net Applications data are becoming noticeable, saying that Windows 7 will become the most widespread version in April - a few months earlier, unlike previous estimates. Windows 8 is debuting by then. According to ComputerWorld analyst Greg Keizer, October seems to be the most likely period for its sales. Windows 7 will already capture 50% to 52% of the market.

Last month, the share of Windows 8 increased slightly - to 0.05% from 0.03% in November or to five PCs out of every 10 thousand. This operating system has not yet reached the beta stage - Microsoft plans to release a release at the end of February.

2011

From September to December 2011, the outflow of Windows XP users increased as they switched to Windows 7. The share of Windows 8 reached 0.05%.

October 2011

Windows XP continues to plummet in the global operating systems market: in October this year, a system with a ten-year history showed the maximum drop in its entire existence. According to Net Applications, the fall of XP is largely due to the growing popularity of Windows 7, which currently controls one in three computers in the world.

The share of Windows XP in October decreased by 2.5% to 48%. At the same time, the share of Windows 7 increased by 2.2% to 34.6%. XP has posted an unprecedented 4.4% decline and more than 7% off its share in August in the past two months. Most likely, the statement Microsoft accelerated this process that XP, first released in 2001, will no longer be supported by the corporation.

Dynamics of the share of Windows operating systems in the global market 2009-2011

Source: Net Applications, October 2011 

In July, Microsoft told customers that "the time has come to abandon XP," recalling that support for this OS will finally end in three years. Earlier this year, top managers of the development division browserInternet Explorer (browser) (IE) also reported that XP could no longer run browsers from version IE9 and higher.

According to Michael Silver, an analyst at Gartner, this message reached most companies. "According to our estimates, 10% of enterprises have already migrated to the seven, 55% are in the process of migration, 25% are just starting it, and another 10% are not going to switch to Windows 7 yet," he said. The deadline for abandoning Windows XP is April 2014: after that date, the corporation will stop releasing patches for this version. "Enterprises simply will not be able to use an OS that does not meet security requirements," Silver said.

Complicating the process of dropping XP and climbing 7 is the fact that Microsoft is already preparing a new version, Windows 8. Like many other analysts, Silver is not optimistic about the potential success of this version in the corporate market, since most companies are already puzzled by the transition to the seven. He said businesses would experience "renewal fatigue" so the G8 exit was unlikely to generate much enthusiasm.

This report also pays attention to the ill-fated Windows Vista, which was released before the seventh version, in early 2007. According to Net Applications, Vista's share of the global OS market in October was only 8.9%, down 1% in the last quarter and down 4.5% overall in the entire last year. This OS never managed to overcome the barrier of 20% of the market: in October 2009, its share reached 19.1%, but Windows 7 was released in the same month.

2010

January 2010

July 2010

As of July 2010, the Windows family of operating systems were installed on 91.32% of the world's operating computers, while the share of Mac OS X was 5.06% and Linux was 0.93%. Other platforms took 2.69%.

Source: Net Applications

In July 2010, the number of computers in the world running Windows 7 exceeded the number of computers with its predecessor for the first time. The share of the first reached 14.46%, while the share of Windows Vista in July was 14.34%. A month earlier, systems owned 13.70% and 14.68% of the installed base, and at the beginning of the year - 7.57% and 17.47%, respectively. Thus, there is a gradual spread of Windows 7, which replaces the previous version of the platform, reports Net Applications.

Source: Net Applications

Meanwhile, the Windows XP operating system released in 2001 continues to occupy the lion's share of the global installed database of systems of the Microsoft Windows family, which is 61.87%, more than twice as much as Windows 7 and Vista combined. However, XP's share is also declining at a faster pace than Vista.

In July 2010, Microsoft announced that it has now sold 175 million licensed copies of Windows 7, which went on sale in October 2009.

The revenue of vendors in the global operating systems market in 2010 amounted to $30.4 billion, which is 7.8% higher than in 2009, reports. Gartner Server Linux and Mac OS were the fastest growing subsegments among server and client operating systems, respectively, and Microsoft retained its leading position in the OS market as a whole with a total share of 78.6%.

In the client OS segment, Mac OS was the fastest growing sub-segment in 2010 due to a significant increase in the supply of Macintosh desktops and laptops, albeit from a much lower base. Client Windows continued to dominate the client OS segment with growth above 5%, including due to the adoption of Windows 7 in light of the imminent end of XP support.

Microsoft had the largest share of the global OS market in 2010 - 78.6% by a huge margin from rivals. The second and third places were occupied by IBM and HP with a market share of 7.5% and 3.7%, respectively. Oracle rose from eighth place in 2009 to fourth in 2010 thanks to the purchase of Sun Microsystems with its Solaris OS in April 2009.

The client OS Windows showed higher growth (by 9.2%) than the Windows server OS (by 7.5%). A new wave of PC updates after the recession was the main source of success for client Windows. In addition, Windows 7 was adopted by the market as the successor to Vista and XP. The expected end of XP support in early 2014 pushed organizations to accelerate the transition to Windows 7 in the second half of 2010.

Among the three operating systems owned by IBM, AIX showed the highest growth (by 9.2%) due to the popularity of the Power System line. The consolidation of the System p and System i platforms and the strategy of actively promoting AIX led to weak growth of System i in 2010 (by 2.7%).

HP-UX managed to maintain moderate growth (by 3.7%). However, HP's revenue from proprietary Unix and other proprietary operating systems continued to decline due to the cessation of Tru64 development and reduced supplies of business-critical systems such as NonStop and OpenVMS.

Revenue from Oracle Solaris decreased by 3.2% in 2010 due to customer uncertainty about the company's readiness to continue developing this OS, although Oracle made several statements to address these concerns. The version Linux at the disposal of Oracle (known as Unbreakable Linux) showed an increase of almost 200% in 2010 (albeit from a small base), which confirmed Oracle's desire to reduce its dependence on Unix and Linux versions of other vendors.

Red Hat dominated the commercial server version segment of Linux. Server license revenue for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) grew by 18.6% to $592 million in 2010, representing 58.2% of the total Linux server version market. According to Gartner, this demonstrates that the market has adopted Linux as a viable alternative to Unix and other proprietary operating systems for critical applications.

Mac OS showed a 15.8% increase in revenue in 2010 to $520 million due to strong sales of Macintosh desktops and laptops. Positioning Mac OS as the "most stylish" client operating system has attracted loyal users to Apple devices and platforms. The company's ongoing innovations in the mobile device market, primarily smartphones and tablets, have helped sales of other Apple devices and will continue to drive sales of Mac OS.

See also

• Read more > > >
• Mobile Platform Operating Systems (Global Market)
• Operating Systems (US Market)
• Operating Systems (Russian Market)
• Operating Systems (Architecture)

Notes