Despite being out of support, over 100 million people use Windows 7

What you need to know

• Windows 7 still has at least 100 million users, according to several analysts.
• Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 at the start of 2020.
• Out of support operating systems don't receive security updates.

Despite being out of support for a year, Windows 7 still appears to have at least 100 million users. Microsoft hasn't released figures for Windows 7 users in some time, but ZDNet recently gathered together information from several areas, and the figures point to at least 100 million people being on the out of support operating system (via The Verge).

Figuring out the exact number of people on Windows 7 is quite complicated. Determining the market share of an operating system isn't an exact science, with different outlets reaching different figures by using different methods. Additionally, finding out the exact number of Windows PCs running any version of Windows isn't easy.

Microsoft estimates that all versions of Windows put together have a user base of 1.5 billion. NetMarketShare has Windows 7 market share at 21.7 percent. StatCounter Global Stats has Windows 7 at 17.7 percent market share. The United States Government Digital Analytics Program states that Windows 7 usage dropped to 7 percent, though it's worth noting that the United States Government Digital Analytics Program measures actual usage of PCs across U.S. websites, not a total number of PCs running an operating system.

These figures varying isn't the fault of analysts but does create a large window (pardon the pun) of figures to deal with. Even with conservative estimates, it appears that at least 100 million people still use Windows 7.

While 100 million users is high, it's dramatically lower than where Windows 7 was at the end of 2019. ZDNet estimated that roughly 200 million PCs still used Windows 7 at the end of 2019.