Are There More Linux Users Than We Think?

Source: Slashdot

Desktop market share

“By my count, Linux has over 11% of the desktop market,” writes ZDNet’s Steven Vaughan‑Nichols.

In StatCounter’s latest U.S. numbers (covering through October), Linux appears at 3.49%. However, the “unknown” category accounts for 4.21%. Vaughan‑Nichols suggests that many of those unknown desktops are likely running Linux—FreeBSD, Unix, or OS/2 are far less common.

ChromeOS shows 3.67%, which he argues is also too low; ChromeOS is a Linux variant that uses the Chrome browser instead of a traditional desktop environment.

Combining Linux (3.49%), the “unknown” segment (4.21%), and ChromeOS (3.67%) yields a Linux desktop market share of 11.37%.

Broader end‑user operating system market

When the metric is expanded to include phones and tablets:

• In the U.S., Android (another Linux distro) holds 41.71% of the market share, according to StatCounter.
• Globally, Android dominates with 72.55%.

Thus, if PC, tablet, and smartphone usage are all counted, Linux‑based systems collectively outpace Windows.

Linux usage on U.S. government websites

Adding ChromeOS (1.7%) and Android (15.8%) results in 23.3% of all visitors to U.S. government sites (per analytics.usa.gov) using Linux‑based platforms. This underscores that the Linux kernel’s user‑facing footprint is far larger than the “desktop Linux” label suggests.

Reasons people are switching to Linux

The article lists several drivers for increased adoption:

• Broader hardware support
• Improved gaming viability via Steam and Proton
• Digital sovereignty initiatives, such as the EU’s creation of EU OS (ZDNet article)

Windows 11 AI concerns

Not everyone is enthusiastic about Windows 11 evolving into an AI‑agentic operating system, as discussed in the ZDNet piece on Microsoft’s AI integration (read more).