Apple says 22 million Macs are still in use

MacWeek, Jan 5, 1998 by Leander Kahney

Nearly 22 million Macs are still in operation today, used by 70 million people worldwide, according to figures released by Apple just before the holidays.

By the end of September 1997, Apple said, it had sold 27.6 million Macs worldwide since the brand was introduced in 1984, and about 80 percent of those machines, or 21.8 million Macs, are still in use.

Additionally, Apple estimated that each machine is used by 3.2 people, meaning there are 70 million Mac users worldwide.

James Staten, an analyst with Dataquest Inc. of San Jose, Calif., said the number of shipments was accurate and that nearly half the machines were shipped in the past three years. However, Staten said Apple overstated the number of Macs still in use. The number "used frequently or for specific purposes, such as a server," is closer to 50 percent, he said.

Apple said the largest number of Macs are in the home market, with about 6.9 million units, followed by the business and government sector, with about 6.2 million machines. Staten said most older Macs have been recommissioned for use by "grandma or the kids."

Most Macs are in the United States, with 15.3 million units, followed by Asia and Europe, with 6 million units each.