Firefox 3.0 extinguished as market share hits 30%

Firefox 3.0 will go out on a high with Mozilla reporting that it holds a 30% share of the global browser market.

The findings are part of Mozilla’s State of the Internet report, which compiles usage findings from analysis firms StatCounter, Quantcast, Net Applications, and Gemius.

According to the report, Firefox’s stronghold is Europe, where it holds a 39.2% share of the market. Just behind this is South America at 31.1%, trailed by Africa on 29.7% and North America, where the browser’s clawed out a 26% stake.

According to Mozilla, Russia’s also beginning to feel the Firefox love. Usage spiked 20% in the first quarter on the back of a visit from Mozilla chairperson Mitchell Baker in February.

The report comes as Mozilla pushes out the final security update for the ageing Firefox 3.0, which patches six vulnerabilities, five of which are listed as critical.

The update will be the last for Firefox 3.0, as the foundation looks to usher users onto more recent versions of its browser. The move was originally slated for the end of January, but the deadline was pushed back after delays to the release of Firefox 3.6.