Firefox has overtaken Microsoft’s Internet Explorer as Europe’s browser of choice for the first time, according to new data.
Figures from web analytics firm Statcounter, show that in December, Firefox took 38.1 per cent of the European market, while Internet Explorer’s share slipped to 37.5 per cent.
Google’s Chrome saw its share rising to 14.6 per cent from just 5.1 per cent a year earlier.
It’s the first time Internet Explorer has been “dethroned from the number-one spot in a major territory,” Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “This appears to be happening because Google’s Chrome is stealing share from Internet Explorer.” Firefox is maintaining its existing share, he said.
Internet Explorer still leads in North America, with a 48.9 percent market share, against Firefox’s 26.7 percent and Chrome’s 12.8 percent, StatCounter said, adding that it samples more than 15 billion page views on 3 million websites.
Cullen said gains by Firefox and Chrome in Europe may have been prompted by an agreement between European Union regulators and Microsoft that compels the U.S. company to offer European users a choice of browsers.
Source: www.statcounter.com
