Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer in Europe

According to data compiled by StatCounter, Firefox overtook Internet Explorer (IE) as the dominant browser in Europe at the end of 2010. During December, 38.11% of internet page views involved Mozilla's Firefox web browser, whilst Internet Explorer fell back to second place with 37.52%. As Aodhan Cullen, the CEO of StatCounter, commented, "This is the first time that IE has been dethroned from the number one spot in a major territory". However, overall, the situation is not that good for Firefox, as at the beginning of 2010, its market share was over 40%. So, the market share of both browsers has declined; the recent figures showing that Internet Explorer has suffered more than Firefox.

According to StatCounter, it's all downhill for Internet Explorer in Europe.
Source: StatCounter The reason for the decline in market share of these two most common browsers is the continued strong growth for Google's Chrome. StatCounter's data show that Chrome's market share in both Europe and worldwide is in the region of 14 to 15% – it has almost tripled during the last year alone.

StatCounter, which evaluates an estimated 15 billion pages views each month, gives both Safari and Opera market share of around 4.5% each. Their figures have remained more or less constant during the last year; Firefox and Internet Explorer have both declined and Chrome risen strongly. These five browsers account for the vast majority of all page views counted by StatCounter. All other browsers account for a total of around only one per cent.

See also:

• Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer in Europe in browser wars, press release from StatCounter.

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