Android is the most used and popular operating system in the world, consisting of more than 3 billion worldwide users as of 2021. Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS on the other hand have approximately 1.4 and 1 billion active users respectively. This also states that Android holds the majority share of the operating systems markets globally. As of March 2022, Android OS holds 41.59% share, whereas Windows holds 31.12% and iOS holds 16.87% in the global market.
So are the number of global users and market shares statistics enough to prove the popularity of Android? No, as there is a lot to know about Android’s annual sales and shipments revenue, market share by region, how Android’s vendors are doing, and more.
In this article you will find the most interesting statistics about Android’s history and current progress in one place, that will definitely show how great this OS is. Let’s start with the highlights below.
Android Key Statistics in 2023
- More than 3 billion people use Android-operated devices, as of 2021.
- Android surpassed Apple’s iOS and became the world’s most popular operating system in 2012.
- 75% of smartphones in the world are run using the Android operating system currently.
- According to Statista, in 2021, Android held 83.32% share in the global market whereas iOS had 17.18% only.
- Samsung is the leading Android-powered smartphone company in the world, holding more than 20% market share in 2021.
- Samsung Galaxy A12, Xiaomi Redmi 9A, and Xiaomi Redmi 9 are the only Android devices making into the list of top 10 best selling smartphones in 2021, globally.
Source: Google, Statista & Counterpoint Research.
Vendor Market Share of Android from 2015-2021
Although in 2003, Android Inc.,’s initial motto was to build an operating system for digital cameras, in 2004 the plan got changed and they started to build an OS for smartphones. Then in 2005, Google Inc. bought Android and dozens of mobile telephone companies i.e., Intel Corporation, Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics, T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom), and more. And finally on October 22, 2008, in T-Mobile G1 cellular telephone, Android OS was first featured. Android surpassed Apple’s iOS and became the most popular operating system in 2012, globally. Now more than 75% of smartphones in the world are run using this operating system.
As there are many smartphone companies or manufacturers that use Android as their one stop operating system, it’s time to look at some stats on which company is leading the market. Check out our following table of Android vendor market share from 2015 to 2021 below.
| Year→ | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Samsung | 28.7 | 25.7 | 26.7 | 25.9 | 25.7 | 28.1 | 20.1 |
| Xiaomi | 6.3 | 9.7 | 9 | 12.3 | 10.4 | 12.2 | 14.2 |
| Huawei | 11 | 13.6 | 12.5 | 18.6 | 21.8 | 17.1 | .. |
| Oppo | 4.4 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 10.7 | 10.6 | 9.9 | 9.9 |
| Vivo | 3.9 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 9.8 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 9.5 |
| Motorola | 2.1 | 2 | 2 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.7 | .. |
| LG | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2 | 2.3 | 2.2 | .. |
| Others | 39.3 | 28.3 | 29.7 | 17.8 | 15.5 | 18.6 | .. |
P.S. The numbers are given in average (percentage) of four quarters in total.
Source: Google, Statista & Counterpoint Research.
Android Market Share for Smartphone Sales to End Users
In 2021, Android’s global market share for smartphone sales to end-users was 83.32%. It was a second consecutive downfall from the year 2019 when android held the highest ever share of around 87.4% in the smartphone sales market. Despite the fall, Google’s Android OS still rules the operating systems market and the reason behind this is, that it is open-source. Mobile phone companies can adapt the Android OS to their own devices, unlike Apple’s iOS which is a closed-source operating system. Now, have a look at our following table showing Android’s market share data since 2009.
| Year | Market Share |
| 2009 | 3.9% |
| 2010 | 22.7% |
| 2011 | 46.66% |
| 2012 | 66.4% |
| 2013 | 78.5% |
| 2014 | 80.7% |
| 2015 | 81.61% |
| 2016 | 84.8% |
| 2017 | 85.9% |
| 2018 | 86.6% |
| 2019 | 87.4% |
| 2020 | 85.17% |
| 2021 | 83.32% |
Source: Statista
Android vs iOS | Global Market Share
Android is the leading smartphone operating system in the world and has been ruling the global market since 2011, holding about 46.66% share whereas Apple’s iOS held about 18.35% in that year. Android’s highest-ever global market share was 87.3%, achieved in 2019, and in the same year, iOS achieved about 13.7% only. Moreover, iOS’s highest-ever global market share was in 2012, gaining about 18.73% and Android in the same year has gained 66.4% share globally.
In 2021, Android held 83.32% global market share whereas iOS held about 17.18%. Have a look at our following table to compare Android vs iOS considering global market share per year.
| Year | Global Market Share (Android) | Global Market Share (iOS) |
| 2011 | 46.66% | 18.35% |
| 2012 | 66.4% | 18.73% |
| 2013 | 78.5% | 15.11% |
| 2014 | 80.7% | 14.6% |
| 2015 | 81.61% | 16.1% |
| 2016 | 84.8% | 14.48% |
| 2017 | 85.9% | 13.86% |
| 2018 | 86.6% | 14.8% |
| 2019 | 87.3% | 13.7% |
| 2020 | 85.17% | 15.5% |
| 2021 | 83.32% | 17.18% |
Source: Statista
Android vs iOS | US Market Share
Currently, Android’s market share in the US lags behind Apple’s iOS. In 2021, iOS covered 51% share of the US market whereas Android held 48.9% only. Check out more stats given in the table below to know about Android vs iOS market share in the US from 2012 to 2021.
| Year | US Market Share (Android) | US Market Share (iOS) |
| 2012 | 46.2% | 49.7% |
| 2013 | 50.6% | 43.9% |
| 2014 | 47.6% | 47.7% |
| 2015 | 59.1% | 39.1% |
| 2016 | 54.4% | 34% |
| 2017 | 55.3% | 35.25% |
| 2018 | 56% | 40.75% |
| 2019 | 52.7% | 42.75% |
| 2020 | 51.7% | 49.25% |
| 2021 | 48.9% | 51% |
Source: Kantar, Counterpoint Research & Statista
Android vs iOS | Europe Market Share
In Europe, Android is well ahead of iOS, covering more than 73% share of the 2021 smartphone operating systems market. In addition, Android’s highest share in the European market was 75.38% in 2019 and in the same year, iOS achieved 24.42% only. As of 2021, iOS shares grew noticeably well in the European market consisting of more than 26%. However, Android has seen a decrease in the market since 2020. To know more about European shares in the OS market, check the table below.
| Year | Europe Market Share (Android) | Europe Market Share (iOS) |
| 2012 | 64.9% | 21.64% |
| 2013 | 69.74% | 17.38% |
| 2014 | 67.22% | 23.34% |
| 2015 | 71.52% | 21.2% |
| 2016 | 72.94% | 24.5% |
| 2017 | 74.98% | 24.1% |
| 2018 | 73.1% | 23.02% |
| 2019 | 75.38% | 24.42% |
| 2020 | 74% | 25.84% |
| 2021 | 73.06% | 26.06% |
Source: Kantar
Android vs iOS | China Market Share
The highest number of Android users in the world lives in China. In 2020, China held 83.3% market share for Android-operated devices and only 16.6% for iOS. In the next year, the number for Android market share dropped by more than 10% to cover only 74.3%, whereas the iOS market share increased to more than 25% in 2021. The below-mentioned statistics will show you more about Android vs iOS market share in China over the years.
| Year | China Market Share (Android) | China Market Share (iOS) |
| 2012 | 73.7% | 21.2% |
| 2013 | 78.6% | 19% |
| 2014 | 77% | 21.5% |
| 2015 | 71.4% | 27.1% |
| 2016 | 80.7% | 19.1% |
| 2017 | 71.2% | 28.6% |
| 2018 | 80.1% | 19.7% |
| 2019 | 78.6% | 21.4% |
| 2020 | 83.3% | 16.6% |
| 2021 | 74.3% | 25.7% |
Source: Kantar
Google Play Annual Revenue
The majority of Google’s earnings come from its Play Store apps from different vendors’ android devices. Each year Google makes billions of dollars from its app/play store only. For example, in 2021 Google earned nearly 50 billion US dollars in revenue. Here in the table below, you will find the data of Google Play annual revenue from the year 2016 to 2021.
| Year | Google Play Annual Revenue |
| 2016 | $15 billion |
| 2017 | $21.2 billion |
| 2018 | $24.8 billion |
| 2019 | $30.6 billion |
| 2020 | $38.6 billion |
| 2021 | $47.9 billion |
Source: Statista
Android Active Users from 2012-2021
As of March 2022, there are around 6.5 billion smartphone and smart device users in the world where more than 3 billion people are active Android users. That states more than 83% of devices are run using Google’s Android OS. In the following table, we have the data of Android’s global active users from 2012 to 2021.
| Year | Global Active Users |
| 2012 | 50 million |
| 2013 | 70 million |
| 2014 | 1 billion |
| 2015 | 1.4 billion |
| 2016 | 1.7 billion |
| 2017 | 2 billion |
| 2018 | 2.3 billion |
| 2019 | 2.5 billion |
| 2020 | 2.8 billion |
| 2021 | 3 billion |
Android Users in the USA from 2014-2022
As of March 2022, there are more than 3 billion active Android users in the world where 133.4 millions of them are from the USA. In 2021, the total number of Android users in the US was 131.2 million and in 2020 it was 129.1 million. The following table shows year by year active users of Android devices in the United States.
| Year | Users in the United States |
| 2014 | 87.7 million |
| 2015 | 98.5 million |
| 2016 | 107.7 million* |
| 2018 | 120.5 million |
| 2019 | 124.4 million |
| 2020 | 129.1 million |
| 2021 | 131.2 million* |
| 2022 | 133.4 million* |
Source: Statista
Android Shipment Volume from 2012-2021
The annual shipment volume of android devices is given in the table below from where we get to know that Android has shipped approximately 1.35 billion devices globally in 2021. It was 0.35 billion more than the previous year’s shipment, according to Statista and other sources.
| Year | Shipment Volume |
| 2012 | 0.6 billion |
| 2013 | 0.8 billion |
| 2014 | 1 billion |
| 2015 | 1.2 billion |
| 2016 | 1.25 billion |
| 2017 | 1.28 billion |
| 2018 | 1.33 billion |
| 2019 | 1.3 billion |
| 2020 | 1.05 billion |
| 2021 | 1.35* billion |
Source: Statista, IDC, Strategy Analytics
FAQs
Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Google’s Android OS and its statistics from around the world.
How many Android users are there in 2020?
In 2020, there were 2.8 billion active Android users in the world among them 129.1 million were from the United States alone.
Source: Statista.
How many Android users are there in 2021?
As of March 2022, there are more than 3 billion active Android users in the world where 133.4 millions of them are from the USA. Android gained 83.32% global market share in 2021. From the USA it was 48.9%, from Europe 73.06% and from China, the number was 74.3% respectively.
iPhone vs Android | Which is more popular in 2021?
Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are the two most popular operating systems for smartphones currently. As Android is open-source, it is used by many smartphone manufacturers from across the planet. However, iOS is closed-source and only owned by Apple, used to manufacture iPad, iPod, iPhone, and other iOS devices only. Therefore, Android leads the OS market globally and in numbers, it is more popular than iOS.
According to Statista, in 2021, Android held 83.32% share in the global market whereas iOS had only 17.18%.
How many Apple iPhone users are there?
As of March 2022, there are more than 1 billion active iPhone users in the world. There are approximately 3.8+ billion smartphone users currently and iPhone holds more than 17% (an average of all four quarters) market share. In addition, There were 1042 million active iPhone users in the world in 2020 where 202 million users were from the USA alone – according to Statista.
What is the percentage of iPhone users to android users?
According to Statista, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android jointly hold 99% share of the total smartphone market in the world where Google’s Android accounts for around 83% and iOS accounts for 17% and more respectively, in the year 2021. In numbers, there are more than 1 billion iOS users and more than 2.5 billion Android users globally.
What are the top-selling Android phones?
2021 was the year for Apple Inc., as 7 individual models of iPhone placed their names in the top 10 best-selling smartphones in the world. Only 3 of the Android smartphones were on that list and to be more specific those devices were Samsung Galaxy A12, Xiaomi Redmi 9A, and Xiaomi Redmi 9. The list of 10 best-selling smartphones in January 2021 is given below!
| Model | Market Share |
| iPhone 12 | 2.9% |
| iPhone 12 Pro Max | 2.2% |
| iPhone 13 | 2.1% |
| iPhone 12 Pro | 2.1% |
| iPhone 11 | 2% |
| Samsung Galaxy A12 | 2% |
| Xiaomi Redmi 9A | 1.9% |
| iPhone SE 2020 | 1.6% |
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | 1.3% |
| Xiaomi Redmi 9 | 1.1% |
Wrap UP!
As Android is the most popular smartphone OS in the world and its users are growing by millions each year, it is not possible to cover all its (important with non-important) statistics in one post. Therefore we have compiled the best and most interesting stats about Android in this article and given credit to authentic data sources. We hope that you have found the Android statistics interesting and we will make sure to update the data where necessary. While Google’s Android continues to progress, stay tuned and comment below to let us know your thoughts as well.
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