Global number of internet users 2012-2021, by operating system

Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows are the operating systems with the greatest number of users - around 2 and 1.6 billion users respectively. 2017 is the year when Android overtook Windows to become the most popular operating system. Altogether there were more than four billion internet users worldwide.

What is an operating system?

   An operating system (OS) is a system software that manages all other software and hardware on a computer. It provides the common services needed for programs to run. Almost every device today – from smartphones to graphic calculators – uses an operating system to function.

Android and iOS lead mobile OS market

    Mobile operating systems are systems that run on mobile devices such as a smartphone. The mobile OS market is dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS, as they jointly occupy almost 99 percent of the global market share. Both unveiled in 2007, the two operating systems have consistently improved their software over the years, providing regular updates to better their performance. Unsurprisingly, Android and iOS smartphones make up for most of smartphone sales globally, with their combined share continuing to increase year-on-year.