How many linux/ubuntu users are there

[bwog]

Hi,

I wondered what the estimated number of linux users is, and how many Ubuntu users there are.

It must be hard to estimate these numbers, but somebody has probaly tried to do this anyway.

[sapo]

I would say, still very few people, i m sure that a lot more could make a good use of it but still dont use it :(

[Sheinar]

I don't know about Ubuntu users, but I heard an estimate of Linux users at about 28 million.

[bwog]

@Sheinar: I suppose you dont have a reference for that number?

[Sheinar]

@Sheinar: I suppose you dont have a reference for that number?
Well, not when I said it, though about a minute after I posted, I noticed there was an estimate of 29 million on the Linux Counter site.

http://counter.li.org/estimates.php

[bwog]

Excellent, thanks Sheinar. Would you believe that I googled for "estimated number linux" and similar words and then gave up because I realized the search terms are too general. Must have done something wrong.

Anyway, this will help :) A consortium called "The China Standard Software" was set up to bring a Linux-based desktop to 200 million Chinese computer users. (from your source)

China doesnt want to be dependent and is prodicing and improving a CPU and apparently a Linux OS too.

[ssam]

if you include people who use websites that run linux then thats nearly everybody. if you use google then you use linux.

you might also want to include embeded linux, then lots of peoples routers, phones, sat nav systems run linux (http://www.linuxdevices.com/index.html).

on the desktop it probably close to the number of mac users, a couple of percent.

apparently canonical have shipped a million ubuntu cds http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=88148&highlight=million+shipit , and this forum has over 50,000 members

[bwog]

apparently canonical have shipped a million ubuntu cds http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=88148&highlight=million+shipit , and this forum has over 50,000 members

II could not find the number of sent CDs on the shipit site, but that isnt the object of that site ofcourse. It is probably in some press release somwhere.
Of interest is also how fast the number of request for CDs changes with time.

Supposing ubuntu alone has a million users (there are also downloads and torrent shares), the 28 million of http://counter.li.org/estimates.php seems a low number.

Embedded use must be huge, but I mean the number of operating systems on desktops, laptops and home servers, that kind of thing. Bad definition though :)

[`GooZ´]

Supposing ubuntu alone has a million users (there are also downloads and torrent shares), the 28 million of http://counter.li.org/estimates.php seems a low number.
Don't think so. Not all CD's delivered by shipit are used. Some people just order it because it's free, and then they order 20 cd's or so. Later, they tend not to like GNU/Linux as much as they like their MSN messenger-enabled windows, so the CD's end up in the trash can. Also, every time a newer version comes out, many people order a NEW ubuntu CD.

[bwog]

Probably many of those CDs wont be used, but ike I said, there are also downloads and torrent shares. I havent seen the numbers of downloads, but there must be a lot of double counts there too.

[uberlinux]

I have gotten about 5 Linux users to Ubuntu/Kubuntu,
and I have also gotten about 3 Windows users to at least steady dual-boot status w/ Kubuntu/SuSE

[bwog]

I have gotten about 5 Linux users to Ubuntu/Kubuntu,
and I have also gotten about 3 Windows users to at least steady dual-boot status w/ Kubuntu/SuSE

I cant say that I have (I tried to help some beginners to install ubuntu in a previous life, but they made the decision to try it themselves).

I think dualboot with windows is the sensible thing to do for window users. Why should they learn a new OS the hard way?

Anyway, that is 8 ubuntu users and we only just started to count :) Excellent!

[aysiu]

I'd say out of the 200+ people I can think of (I've probably met closer to 1000 in my lifetime, if not more), only 1 actually uses Ubuntu (besides me). That's less than 1% in my social circle (who tend to be college graduates in the middle- to upper-class in America).

It's not a representative sample, but I thought I'd contribute that.

[bwog]

Yes, that is a sobering thought. Most of my friends use windows, and after that unix/linux and the Mac. Not representative too, but you have a point there.

Well, I do not mind when people use windows. Now it is just so much easier to install linux in comparison to a few years ago (I think I tried it about 4 years ago). Many people just dont know that.

[welsh_spud]

If you look at pretty much any Linux Distro poll, you will almost always find that SUSE is the most used/favoured distro.

Interestingly, there are more people who don't use Windows XP than do. A hell of a lot of schools and buisnesses still run windows 2000. In-fact, my fathers office still has a few terminals running Windows 3.1.

[dubz]

In my university it's requiredthat you use Linux for for your practicals. Im talking about all 2nd and 3rd year Computer Science students.
University of Pretoria,South Africa.

[phen]

imho, linuxcounter or the number of shipped cds are not valid references. but if all linux browsers are describing themselves as such, we would have to analyse several logs of big websites. these websites should cover several different topics (science, search engine, ebay etc etc). the result would be a relatively exact estimation of the number of linux boxes in use. at least, a ratio will be recognizable.

maybe somebody knows about a statistic like that?

[uberlinux]

imho, linuxcounter or the number of shipped cds are not valid references. but if all linux browsers are describing themselves as such, we would have to analyse several logs of big websites. these websites should cover several different topics (science, search engine, ebay etc etc). the result would be a relatively exact estimation of the number of linux boxes in use. at least, a ratio will be recognizable.

maybe somebody knows about a statistic like that?
ubfortunately, even that would not work as many browsers misrepresent themselves in order to be able to visit certain sites, like right now, konqueror is telling the world that I am XP ie6

[poofyhairguy]

My mom will be added. Recently her computer got owned. Not even a dual boot if Quicken will magically work in cedega.

[bwog]

imho, linuxcounter or the number of shipped cds are not valid references. but if all linux browsers are describing themselves as such, we would have to analyse several logs of big websites. these websites should cover several different topics (science, search engine, ebay etc etc). the result would be a relatively exact estimation of the number of linux boxes in use. at least, a ratio will be recognizable.

maybe somebody knows about a statistic like that?

Linuxcounter is a brave attempt at making an estimate of the number of linux users, and they recognize the difficulties in making an estimation. What makes their information valid (but not necessarily correct) is the description of their method.

The numbers of requested CDs or the number of shipped CDs over time, gives an indication of the rate of change of ubuntu users, not an absolute number. Stiil, I am interested in the impact that Ubuntu has.

The browser method has its own difficulties (eg Firefox works on windows as well and can identify as itself as IE), but there are statistics for the different browsers. Firefox (source XITI) Europe http://www.xitimonitor.com/etudes/equipement11.asp , worldwide http://tweakers.net/nieuws/39138/?highlight=firefox+markt http://www.xitimonitor.com/etudes/equipement12.asp

Perhaps we just have to wait and see if China adds 200 million linux users.

[`GooZ´]

@ bwog: someone who reads tweakers.net! great! :-)
Anyhoo, the stats given by google (link is somewhere on the linuxcounter page) looks to me like a good overall (although I'm aware of the fact that not everybody uses google, and not as much as other people).

[bwog]

Offtopic. @Gooz: What really surprised me is that Dutch is actually discernible on the map in Languages Used to Access Google in http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist/zeitgeist-jun04.html (September 2003 - June 2004)

Did you ever visit http://forum.ubuntulinux.nl/ ?

[gabhla]

In my circle of friends, family and associates, I am the ONLY Linux user. Of course, I should add, my "social circle" is somewhat limited as I'm somewhat older (I suppose) then most Linux (or Windows, for that matter) users. Probably most folks just aren't interested in Linux...or Windows. They just want something that works. Only my Grandson has shown interest in Ubuntu, and he wants me to install it on his computer, but - alas! - his Mom won't let me. Eventually, I will.

My guess is there aren't very many of us in comparision to Windows users. But, that will change with time. As for Ubuntu, the user base will continue to grow relative to Linux (or Non-Windows) users, but at the expense of other Linux distros.

I love Ubuntu - period. Everyone should be using it.

[`GooZ´]

<OT>@bwog: Was me ook al opgevallen! Nederland en Belgi&#235; zijn tenslotte ook nogal sterk bedeeld als het op internet aankomt (bijna iedereen heeft breedband)
ivm forum: bedankt, ik ga me nu registreren :-)</OT>
In my circle of friends (which isn't very big, I'm a geek, remember...) there are 4 people using linux (which also may be because I'm a geek)