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How Internet Explorer Lost Almost Half of Its Users in China in Just One Year

Graphs shows that IE's share dropped abruptly last year

Feb 20, 2015 14:12 GMT  ·  By
Chrome is now the leading browser in China
   Chrome is now the leading browser in China

Internet Explorer continues to be Microsoft's number one browser, at least until the official launch of Spartan, but this doesn't necessarily mean that users would stick to it until the new app arrives.

Living proof is this graph generated by StatCounter based on market share data collected from China in 2014 and which clearly shows that IE's user base reduced dramatically in no less than 12 months.

Surprisingly, Internet Explorer started the year as the number one browser in China with a share of 42.87 percent, pretty much thanks to the Windows domination in the country. But since April 2014, Internet Explorer has dropped so much that it now has a market share almost half the size it had in January 2014, with Google Chrome now leading the market in a pretty much obvious way.

There are two reasons Internet Explorer lost so many users in such a short time.

Windows XP end of support

In April 2014, Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows XP, and together with the ancient operating system, old versions of Internet Explorer that were running on it also went dark.

China was one of the countries that were still running Windows XP last year, so without patches and security fixes for Internet Explorer, many moved to Google Chrome, a browser that still receives support until mid-2015.

This is why the switch actually took place in April, as this was the month when Microsoft ended support for Windows XP and, indirectly, for old versions of Internet Explorer.

Google Chrome's updates on Windows

While Internet Explorer no longer received updates, Google Chrome did, and the Mountain View-based search company promised to keep its browser patched on Windows XP until the summer of 2015.

As a result, Chrome became a much more appealing choice for Windows users in China, so the results can be easily seen in this chart. Chrome's market share skyrocketed, while Internet Explorer's fell at a very fast pace each month.

Right now, Internet Explorer has a market share of 23.13 percent in China, while Chrome continues to lead the market with a share of 52.62 percent.