Google Chrome dominates browser market

Google Chrome is dominating the browser market with more than 50% of the total user base, according to statistics released by the US government and quoted by ZDNet.

One might imagine that Apple Mac users would be content with using the default browser, Safari, which comes pre-loaded with the operating system. But that is not the case as the figures show. In fact it doesn't even make an appearance on the list drawn up by the US Government Digital Analytics Program, as shown -- or not shown -- below.

• Google Chrome... 56.2%
• Microsoft Edge... 19.4%
• Internet Explorer... 14.8%
• Firefox... 9.0%
• All others... 0.6%

The statistics are from the first quarter of 2018 and show the browsers used by visitors to US government websites. It might not representative of the broader market, but it does provide an interesting insight into one particular segment. Other statistics elsewhere show a similar story at the top, with Google Chrome in top position. The latest figures from Net Market Share show Google as being even more dominant, with more than 60 per cent of the browsers market, but does at least acknowledge the existence of Safari, which is estimates at 3.6% usage.

1. Chrome... 60.14%
2. Internet Explorer... 12.46%
3. Firefox... 11.99%
4. Edge... 4.08%
5. Safari... 3.64%
6. Sogou Explorer... 1.72%
7. Opera... 1.55%
8. QQ... 1.51%
9. UC Browser... 0.75%
10. Yandex... 0.71%

(Source: NetMarketShare.com) Meanwhile Statista has a quirkier take on things. Its figures show Google Chrome for Android as being the number-one browser. Two desktop versions of Chrome take up second and third place, while Safari for iPhone and Firefox are placed fourth and fifth respectively. Statista places Internet Explorer at sixth and Microsoft Edge at 12th. While most browsers have fewer compatibility issues with websites than they used to, Chrome is highly likely the one that web designers and developers prioritise when it comes to testing whether their work looks good and functions properly. Taking all three lists into account, what seems interesting is how Microsoft Edge is apparently underperforming. But since a lot of people are still using Microsoft Internet Explorer, this may be less important to the company than it would otherwise be. Browser popularity can have an effect on the revenues of a company. Google may have the most popular search engine, but a lot of the traffic is down to the fact that it's browser is so widely used. If Microsoft could make its browser more popular the content that it distributes through would be more widely read and the company's advertising network would probably perform better. At the moment Google completely dominates online advertising along with Facebook, which interestingly does not have its own browser.