Internet Explorer 6 Usage Down Worldwide

Website developers applaud the fact that the usage of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6) web browser in the U.S. and Europe has fallen below the 5% mark for the first time. Most developers say we can’t get rid of it fast enough, due to its many problems. StatCounter Global Stats reported that IE 6 usage was 11.5% only 12 months ago.

“At these levels, Web developers now have valid justification not to support IE 6 in the future,” said Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter, in a statement. “A number of sites including YouTube are already understood to have withdrawn support for IE 6.

IE 6 has been a bit of a pain for many web developers and designers who have often had to re-code their site to get it to work. There are also security implications with the out of date browser, in its continued usage.

Meanwhile, StatCounter Global Stats reports that IE 8 U.S. usage increased to 30.5% in May from 8.5% in the same month last year. IE 7 is currently at 16.6% in the U.S.

For individual country analysis go to: gs.statcounter.com/#browser_version-ww-monthly-200905-201005. Further information on the StatCounter analysis is available at: gs.statcounter.com/faq.