Windows 11's growth slowed down in May 2025

Although Windows 11 is becoming more popular among gamers, its worldwide growth stalled a bit last month. Statcounter reports that the system's global market share dropped from 47.32% to 43.23% in one month. While the drop is not a big one, it is still a notable slowdown compared with previous months.

Windows 10 is still the most popular Windows version worldwide. Last month, its market share increased proportionally to Windows 11's decline. Now, it sits at 53.19% (+0.25 points).

In its home country, the United States, Windows 11 is the most popular version, but in May 2025, it lost a notable chunk of users, going down from 56.36% to 52.94%. It's a similar picturen Canada, where Windows 11 holds 50.65%, a -2.05 points decrease. In the United Kingdom, however, Windows 11 climbed to a new all-time high of 57.12% (+1.43 points).

Other Windows versions, which are no longer supported, remain at the bottom of the chart, with Windows 7 having 2.48% (+0.02 points), Windows XP at 0.54% (+0.16 points), and Windows 8.1 at 0.29% (+0.01 point).

Statcounter's data is not 100% accurate, considering the methodology this service uses (probably only Microsoft can tell the exact figures, but it would not do that). Therefore, some fluctuations and inaccuracies are possible. Still, the data shows the overall market trend and the results of Microsoft's efforts to switch users from the outgoing Windows 10 to Windows 11. For example, during the last 12 months, Windows 11 has climbed from 26.19% to 43.23%, which is a 17.04 percentage point increase.

As we get closer to October 2025 and the end of Windows 10 support, Windows 11 will pick up its pace and soon become the most popular desktop operating system worldwide. However, Windows 10 is expected to repeat the Windows 7 story. The aging operating system will stick around for a while, with Microsoft and third-party companies offering additional update solutions for those who are not ready to move on.