In terms of operating systems, where is Linux located? Underrated as it is, the operating system dominates some categories in which other systems lag behind, especially mobile. Linux is imperative in this area, unparalleled, and mobile accounts for more than half of all global Internet traffic today. Despite its open-source format, most of its qualities remain a mystery. So let’s take a look at some basic Linux statistics to move forward.
Linux Stats
(Editor’s Choice)
- 47% of professional developers use Linux-based operating systems. (Statista)
- Linux powers 39.2% of websites whose operating system is known. (W3Techs)
- Linux powers 85% of smartphones. (Hayden James)
- Linux, the third most popular desktop operating system, has a market share of 2.09%. (Statista)
- The size of the Linux market worldwide will reach $15.64 billion by 2027. (Fortune Business Insights)
- The world’s 500 fastest supercomputers run on Linux. (Blackdown)
- 96.3% of the top one million web servers run Linux. (ZDNet)
- Today, there are more than 600 active Linux distributions. (Tecmint)
Fascinating Linux usage statistics
1. 47% of professional developers
use Linux-based operating systems
.
Windows is the best choice for 61% of respondents, while about a third of professional developers, or 44%, use MacOS. Only 3% use Windows Subsystem for Linux, while 1% of developers use other operating systems.
(Statista)
2. Linux powers almost 40% of websites whose operating system is known.
This compares to 22% of websites using Windows. The latest Linux usage statistics also show that 47.7% of the top 1,000 websites and 38.8% of the world’s top 10,000 websites use the operating system. Similarly, 49.9% of the top 100,000 websites and 45.4% of the top 1,000,000 websites globally are Linux-based, demonstrating its prevalence among the competition.
(W3Techs)
3. Women accounted for 9.9% of the Linux kernel Git population.
The latest available data suggests that this translates to approximately 330 female developers. The percentage of Linux users who were women also falls short: they account for 6.8% of activity in the kernel or around 4,000 commits. OpenStack numbers show that women made up 11% of the population (around 340 active developers), while their activity accounts for 9% of total engagements.
(The Linux Foundation)
4. Linux has more than 27.8 million lines of code.
According to Linux statistics, developers added more than 817,700, removed 285,485, and modified 11,859 lines of code for kernel version 5.14. Many consider this tremendous amount to be too large to run on a smaller device. Contrary to common assumption, vendors don’t use all lines at once on all devices. It is one of the advantages of open source; Everyone can take what they need.
(Linux, Linux Kernel Archive)
5. SpaceX has used Linux-compatible systems to complete 65 missions so far.
This includes the famous Falcon 9 missions. Being the primary choice of government agencies as well as private companies, Linux users include other high-end space organizations, including NASA and ESA.
(Oh my God! Ubuntu!)
6. About 90% of Hollywood special effects depend on Linux.
If you’ve ever wondered how stunning special effects are created, they’re mostly made in Linux. Approximately 90% of visual effects in Hollywood rely on Linux at some stage of production. Linux usage statistics show that the flexibility of existing devices and open source code provided the system with a natural advantage over other operating systems.
(Werts)
7. 85% of smartphones run on Linux. To be precise,
85% of smartphones
are based on Android, which originates from the Linux kernel. Today, Android has a significant dominance in the market, and since the release of Android 11, the platform has lived on Linux Kernel Long-Term-Support, confirm Linux user statistics.
(Hayden James)
8. 0.44% of Steam users are playing on Linux.
Steam is used by many players around the world and there are thousands of games available on it. Despite Windows’ popularity among gamers, recent statistics show that Valve’s Steam uses Linux as a useful alternative, with roughly 4,000 gamers using Linux in 2018 in terms of compatible games. Most Linux users use Ubuntu (0.18%), while 0.6% use Linux Mint.
(Statista, Blackdown)
9. Mozilla VPN allows users to set Linux-based computer locations in over 30 countries.
Linux statistics confirm that it is possible to connect to more than 400 servers worldwide, with the ability to access any content users want. However, using Linux is not a prerequisite for accessing it: people can connect up to five devices with different operating systems, including Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android. Of course, this is just one of the good VPNs for Linux that users should turn to.
(Mozilla)
10. Intel and Huawei Technologies rank as the two largest contributors to the Linux kernel.
For example, Intel employees added 12.6% in contributions to Linux, with 96,976 lines changed. On top of that, their contribution by the number of changesets was 8%. The most surprising fact comes in the form of contributions from Huawei. The taxpayers of this company made an addition of 8.9% (1,434 sets of changes) and 5.3% of modified lines (41,049).
(It’s FOSS)
Linux Market Share Statistics
11. Linux is the third most popular desktop operating system, with a market share of 2.09%.
Unsurprisingly, Windows is the most popular desktop operating system, with a market share of
up to 73.72%, being the only operating system with a share of more than 70%. Apple’s Mac has been gaining ground lately, but it’s still a minor player at 15.33%.
(Statista)
12. In 2019, Linux accounted for 13.6% of servers globally.
Even a cursory look at the Linux vs Windows server market share comparison would show that the latter has the upper hand, but they had similar growth rates between 2018 and 2019. Windows grew from 71.9% to 72.1%, while Linux servers reached 13.6%, up from 12.9%.
(Statista)
13. The size of the Linux market worldwide will reach $15.64 billion by 2027.
A CAGR of 19.2%, the growing number of servers globally and increasing Internet penetration rates drive the Linux market share, the statistics confirm. The increasing expansion of data centers comprises the key factor in the growth of the market. Led by the IT, healthcare, and manufacturing industries, many branches are switching to Linux, impacting the size of the market.
(Fortune Business Insights)
14. Linux is behind the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers.
Linux has been dominating the list for the past three years. In 2016, 498 supercomputers used Linux as their operating system, while the rest used Unix. A main reason behind the heavy adoption of Linux lies in its open source nature. That is, all supercomputers have specific purposes, and having an operating system that allows adjustments to those needs means a lot.
(Blackdown, ZDNet)
15. As of 2017, around 90% of cloud infrastructure operates on Linux.
In addition,
82% of smartphones and 62% of embedded systems run on this operating system, according to the latest Linux usage statistics available. 4,300 developers from more than 500 of the world’s largest companies, including IBM, Google, Renesas, Red Hat, Intel and Samsung, contributed to its code
.
(Developer)
16. 96.3% of the top one million web servers
run Linux.
Among the websites that run on Linux, the most notable include Twitter, Yahoo, and eBay, which talk a lot about Linux’s popularity. The Internet is increasingly dependent on Linux: 96.3% of the top one million web servers use Linux, server statistics indicate. Windows (1.9%) and FreeBSD (1.8%) share the rest.
(ZDNet)
The Most Popular Linux Distribution
17. Today, there are more than 600 active Linux distributions.
Another 500 are in active development, constituting a complex living system that is continuously updated and expanded. Some of the most used are Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Fedora, Kali Linux, Arch Linux and OpenSUSE, according to usage statistics for the Linux distribution.
(Tecmint)
18. Ubuntu accounts for 33.9% of the Linux market.
That means more than a third of websites using Linux run on Ubuntu. Second place goes to Debian, which accounts for 16% of Linux-based websites, followed by CentOS with a 9.3% share. Other distributions, such as RedHat, Gentoo, Fedora and SuSe, have a much smaller share, i.e. below 1%. Its shares are 0.8%, 0.5%, 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
(W3Techs)
19. The United States has the most Ubuntu users, and nearly two million websites run on it.
Linux statistics show that around 66% of users opted for the operating system to handle their data, with English being the main language of 59% of users, followed by Spanish with 7%. Germany is the second country with the most Ubuntu users, as 256,845 German websites run on this operating system.
(BuiltWith
, Ubuntu)
20. 50% of users referred to AI and machine learning as the next big areas of growth for this
operating system.
Conducted to gather information to improve decision-making processes in Ubuntu, the survey found that half of respondents expected the operating system to branch out artificial intelligence as well as machine learning. Refining Kubeflow, a platform designed to leverage the cloud to facilitate AI and ML practices, is one way to address this.
(Ubuntu)
21. Red Hat has a 33.9 percent share of the global server operating environment market.
According to Linux server statistics, the number of subscriptions for this service grew by 14.1% in 2018. Paid subscriptions also accounted for more than 51% of commercial server operating system deployments in the same period. According to the latest numbers, Red Hat, a “progeny” of the Linux Kernel, has touched more than $10 trillion of the global enterprise economy. For comparison, Microsoft holds a 47.8% share, with the rest of the market occupying approximately 18.3% share.
(Red hat)
22. More than 1,000 members with official developer status contribute to the Debian Project.
Debian’s architecture is the basis for several other Linux distributions, including Ubuntu. Linux usage statistics confirm that thanks to these developers and other volunteers and contributors, the versatility of the architecture makes it a solid foundation for the evolution of other distributions. Therefore, both individuals and businesses can search for the ones that best suit their needs or even bundle Debian-based applications to suit multiple business objectives.
(Summer of Code, StorageCraft)
23. Heavy industry and engineering account for 5.45% of Gentoo usage.
Gentoo provides its users with a complete Linux distribution, which has an advanced package management system: Portage. Linux usage statistics reveal that there are 16,101 websites powered by Gentoo, with 13,893 unique domains. Other industries that rely on this Linux distribution include computer electronics and technology (4.6%), vehicles (3.97%), and science and education (3.72%).
(SimilarTech, Linuxiac)
Final Thoughts
Despite its complexity, Linux usage statistics prove that the operating system is one of the most popular platforms among developers. Since its launch, Linux went through a transformation that made it a force to be reckoned with. From smartphones to space stations to programs, many things depend on the operating system and its distributions. Even Microsoft, one of its toughest rivals, uses Linux code, verifying its status as a major player in the tech world.
Frequently Asked Questions
about Linux
How many people use Linux?
The latest Linux statistics show that 2.68% of desktop and laptop PCs worldwide run on this platform. The number of Linux users stands at more than 32.8 million, in addition to 1.6 billion Android users.
(Statista)
How many people use Ubuntu?
Although it is difficult to determine a precise number, the latest Linux usage statistics and available Ubuntu data suggest that there were more than 40 million desktop users. It’s actually one of the most popular Linux distributions, with about 34.5% of all websites running Linux. Ubuntu and Debian combined also account for 49.9% of all Linux distributions for web use.
(Ubuntu, W3Techs)
Who Uses Linux?
The use of Linux is widely applicable to various types of operations, from smartphones to space missions, and its open source and versatility provide the greatest advantage over its competitors. Here follow the notable Linux users:
- NASA
- CERN
- The United States Department of Justice
- Gendarmerie.
French
(TechRepublic)
What runs
on Linux?
According to Linux usage statistics, some common services that run on the operating system are web browsers, games, different open source applications, and basic things like a PDF reader or a video player. Basically, everything in your browser should work on Linux. Of course, many Microsoft and Apple products don’t run on Linux, but they all have open-source replacements compatible with this platform. Despite the limitations, many closed-source applications built with web-based tools are available for Linux, including Spotify, Slack, Minecraft, and Skype.
(How-To Geek)
How many Linux distributions are
there?
There are more than 600 active and 500 distributions under development. According to Linux statistics, some of
the most popular include:
- Debian
- Ubuntu
- Red Hat Enterprise
- CentOS
- Fedora Gentoo
- Arch
- Kali Linux
- Linux Mint
Linux
Linux
.
These are just a few of the most popular, and many of them have their own distributions. For example, Ubuntu is one of the Debian distributions. These two combined constitute a significant percentage of the Linux distribution market share.
(
Tecmint) Sources: Statista,
W3Techs, Hayden James, Statista, Fortune Business Insights, Blackdown, ZDNet, Tecmint, The Linux Foundation, Linux, Linux Kernel Archive, OMG! Ubuntu!, Werts, Statista, Mozilla, It’s FOSS, Statista, Developer, W3Techs, BuiltWith, Ubuntu, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Summer of Code, StorageCraft, SimilarTech, Linuxiac, Statista, Ubuntu, TechRepublic, How-To Geek