The dethroning of Internet Explorer has been a long time coming. For years Microsoft’s browser sat at the top of the browser heap, stagnating and becoming bloated. First Netscape, and the Mozilla tried to take Internet Explorer down with good design, modulability, and other modern features. Those browsers never spread too far beyond a core of internet-savvy users, though.

When Google launched its Chrome browser in 2008, its focus was on speed. This aimed right at the weakness of the market’s large, slow browsers. Chrome’s ease of use, combined with its automatic updating features, gave the browser an edge and propelled it into the browser wars with a fury.

Now, Statcounter is showing that Chrome might have overtaken Internet Explorer for good. As seen above, Chrome has gained over a 10% higher share of the market since this time last year, and has done so at the expense of both Microsoft and Mozilla.

This comes at a time when Microsoft has actually improved Internet Explorer. Microsoft’s browser now has many of the features that Chrome and Firefox sport, and its newest version is faster than previous ones. Unfortunately, the company has a hard time getting users to upgrade to newer versions of the browser. Many IT departments don’t bother with the hassle of upgrading browsers on every employee’s computer. Also, many Internet Explorer users are less computer-savvy users who simply use the browser because it came with their Windows installation. Some people still use Internet Explorer 6, an outdated, unsupported browser that doesn’t work with much of the modern web. In fact, according to StatCounter, more people use Internet Explorer 6 than use Opera or Safari 5.1.

Take a look at StatCounter’s statistics below and see for yourself. StatCounter also keeps statistics on operating systems, search engines, social media, and more.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share

(StatCounter via The Next Web)