Google has published the latest distribution figures for the Android operating system. The numbers, were uploaded to the official Developer Dashboard blog and reveal a consistent growth in the amount of users running KitKat (4.4), whilst older versions of the OS continue on their long path towards extinction.

As is the norm, this data was collected by recording which operating systems customers were running when they accessed the Google Play Store over a 7-day period, which ended on May 1, 2014. This consequently gives Google an insight as to which version of Android is running on active devices all around the world. The team at Mountain View then break down this information and condense it into a pie chart for us comb through.

The numbers reveal a consistent growth in the amount of users running KitKat (4.4)

You’ll immediately notice that Cupcake, Donut and Eclair are missing from the chart – this doesn’t mean they no longer exist, because they do. In actual fact, they’re absent because the earlier builds of the operating system can no longer access the updated version of the Play Store. However, Google did create a separate post suggesting that “versions older than Android 2.2 accounted for about 1% of the devices that checked in to Google servers.”

First thing’s first – Honeycomb (3.2) is almost at the point of extinction, holding just 0.1% of the Android market share for the tenth month running. Froyo has decreased ever so slightly, now measuring in at 1% under last month’s 1.1% of market distribution. The amount of users still running Gingerbread (2.3.3 – 2.3.7) has significantly reduced dropping down to just 16.2% – which is a 1.6% decrease from last month’s 17.8%.

Honeycomb now holds 0.1% of the market share, with Froyo dropping down to just 1% and Gingerbread decreasing to 16.2%.

Unsurprisingly, the amount of users running Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.3 – 4.0.4) seems to have decreased slightly, too, with total market distribution dropping down to 13.4%. That’s a 0.9% decrease from last month’s 14.3%. The data also exhibits that the usage of Jelly Bean (4.1.x – 4.3) has also decreased, dropping down from 61.4% to 60.8%.

The only version of the operating system to face an increase this month is KitKat (4.4), which has seen an uprising of a whopping 3.2%, now weighing in at 5.3% of the total market share. Clearly, more people are purchasing Android 4.4-compatible smartphones and tablets, which is great as it means that the operating system can continue to expand, without leaving any users with outdated devices behind.

The amount of users running Ice Cream Sandwich has fallen to 13.4%. Jelly Bean has also declined, dropping down to 60.8%. KitKat has faced an increase, though, now holding 5.3% of the market share.

Do you want to find out more about these latest distribution figures? If so, simply head on over to the Android Developer Dashboard by clicking the source link below, where you will be presented with a handful of other graphs and charts, which breakdown this information in a multitude of different ways.

• SourceAndroid Developer Dashboard