Since its introduction in 2010, Instagram has skyrocketed to 2 billion active members, making it one of the top 5 social networking platforms globally. If we put it on a scale a quarter of the world’s active netizens will use the platform EVERY MONTH!
Instagram’s overall structure (Algorithm, User base, Technological features, etc.) has developed over the last decade. Instagram will celebrate its 12th birthday this year and if you want to plan your marketing strategy for the platform in 2022 and make the most of it, it’s critical to stay up to date on all things.
Thus to ensure you’re dealing with accurate data, we’ve developed a list of the most significant Instagram figures you should be aware of.
In this data-rich overview of Instagram. You would get a clear picture *Pun intended* spent $1 billion to acquire this photo-sharing platform just 2 years after its launch. Let’s get right into it, shall we?
About Instagram
| Launched on | 6 October 2010 |
| Headquarters at | Menlo Park, California |
| People | Adam Mosseri (Head of Instagram), Kevin Systrom (co-founder), Mike Krieger (co-founder) |
| Parent Company | Meta (Facebook) |
Instagram Statistics at a Glance
This is basically the key instagram statistics in a nutshell.
- Monthly Active Users: The platform is accessed by 2 billion MAUs worldwide.
- Daily Active Users: The platform is used by 500+ mil. people worldwide.
- It took 8 months for stories on Instagram to overtook Snapchat’s 150 million Daily Active Users. Currently reaching half a bil. people every day.
- Instagram ranks fourth among the most popular social network with 2 billion users. Facebook has 2.85 billion, YouTube has 2.29 billion, and WhatsApp has 1.6 billion.
- The monthly active user base of Instagram is equivalent to the population of the EU and North America combined.
- According to research done by Ghost Data. Up to 95 million (9.5%) platform users may be bots, costing marketers $1.3 billion in 2019.
- India has the most Instagram users accounting for 230.25 million Instagrammers. Next to follow are the USA (159.75 million), Brazil (119.45 million), Indonesia (99.15 million), and Russia (63 million).
- An average user spends 30 minutes on the platform.
- Instagram’s workforce consists of 450 people.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on the platform with 430 million followers. That is equivalent to 21.5% of all MAUs.
Instagram Monthly Active Users (MAUs)
There are currently over 2 billion monthly active Instagram users. The platform is now the 4th largest social network in the world.
Instagram has 23.92 percent of the world’s 4.18 billion smartphone netizens.
Some Quick Pointers on Instagram MAUs:
- India, with 230.25 million Instagrammers has the greatest potential for ad-generated revenue, followed by the USA (159.75 million) and Brazil (119.45 million).
- Instagram is used on a regular basis by 30.94 % of the world’s 4.48 billion people who actively surf the internet.
- Instagram is used by 25.31 % of the world’s population
- The monthly active user base of Instagram is equivalent to the population of the EU and North America combined.
Below is the table for the MAUs of Instagram since 2013:
| Year | Users |
| 2013 | 110 million |
| 2014 | 200 million |
| 2015 | 370 million |
| 2016 | 500 million |
| 2017 | 700 million |
| 2018 | 1 billion |
| 2019 | 1.1 billion |
| 2020 | 1.3 billion |
| 2021 | 2 billion |
| 2022 | 2+ billion |
Sources: (Facebook) (Statista) (Mention) (Worldometers) (WordPopulationReview) (Statista) (Statista)
Instagram MAUs as it happened over the years:
- On October 6th, 2010 (a year after launch) founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger renamed the platform from Burbn, and grabbed over 1 lakh members in 1 week!
- It took Instagram just 67 days to reach 1 mil. user mark.
- Instagram reached 10 million MAUs in 2011.
- In February 2011, with the help of investors, Instagram’s value reached $25 mil.
- Then, with the debut of an iPhone app, Facebook (META) bought the social network with 30 million monthly active members for a $1 bill.
Breakdown Table below;
| Date | MAUs |
| February 2013 | 100 mil. |
| June 2016 | 500 mil. |
| June 2018 | 1 bil. |
| 2020 | 1.3 billion |
| 2022 | 2+ billion |
Instagram Daily Active Users (DAUs)
The most recent announcement by Meta (Facebook) indicates that 500 million individuals use Instagram on a daily basis globally. That is one in every eight netizens at least once every 24 hours.
Instagram’s DAUs outnumber the population of the continent of South America.
Some Quick Pointers on Instagram DAUs:
20.) With 500+ mil. DAUs, Instagram is ranked second only to Facebook in terms of daily logins.
21.) All of the 500 million traffic interact with Instagram stories.
22.) Instagram is used by 11.11% of the world’s 4.54 bil. netizens daily.
23.) Instagram is used by 13.15% of the globe’s 3.8 billion active social media users daily.
24.) Instagram is used by 6.32% of the world’s population daily.
25.) Instagram’s DAUs are 69 million more in numbers than the entire population of South America.
Sources: (Facebook) (Statista) (Worldometers) (WordPopulationReview) (Statista) (Recode)
Instagram Features that Account for the Growth
When you compare Instagram’s DAUs ever since its inception, it’s evident that the amount of exciting new features they’ve introduced over the years have had a significant influence on the app’s stickiness.
26.) Although Instagram had 550 million monthly users back in 2016’s 4th quarter. Only 100 million users were DAUs, that’s roughly 18%
Fast forward to today, and more than half of MAUs interact with the app on a daily basis as a result of the introduction of several amazing user-centric features.
Let’s discuss them in brief below:
- Instagram Stories: Photo and video montages that last 24 hours.
- Ephemeral messages: Secured and private messages that disappear after being seen.
- Feed algorithm: Sorts feed based on which posts their algorithm predicts users will enjoy.
- Instagram Television (IGTV): upload lengthier videos, erasing the prior restrictions.
- Live video: Stream videos to your followers, who can interact with you.
- Instagram Reels: Instagram’s response to TikTok allows users to make 15-second videos.
- The capacity to translate comments, captions, and bios in real-time aided their spread into non-English speaking countries.
Let’s Talk About Instagram Stories:
Instagram launched the stories feature on August 2nd, 2016, a direct challenge to rival Snapchat. It provides the users with video and photo sequences that disappear after 24 hours from the time of post. Just a couple of months after releasing the feature, 100 million users started interacting with it on a daily basis.
The feature overtook Snapchat’s 150 million DAUs 8 months after its introduction.
Breakdown of Instagram Stories DAUs:
| Date | DAUs |
| October 2016 | 100 mil. |
| June 2017 | 250 mil. |
| January 2019 | 500+ mil. |
| April 2022 | 500+ million. |
Additional facts:
27.) 62% of people are more interested in a brand after viewing it on Instagram Stories.
28.) The most popular Giphy in Instagram Stories is the “heart love sticker.”
Instagram User Growth Rate Timeline
As per Instagram’s official data,
29.) The platform has been gaining around 100 million new users every 4 to 9 months (Constant since 2014).
30.) However, the corporation saw a significant rise of 200 mil. new users between September 2017 and June 2018. From 2018 to 2019, the rate slowed to a more consistent 6.7%
Instagram Monthly Active User Growth Rate Globally
| Date | Growth Rate | Duration |
| September 14 – June 15 | 100 mil. | 9 |
| April 17 – September 17 | 100 mil. | 6 |
| December 17 – April 18 | 100 mil. | 4 |
| Jun 16 – December 16 | 100 mil. | 6 |
| September 15 – June 16 | 100 mil. | 9 |
| December 14 – September 15 | 100 mil. | 9 |
| March 14 – December 14 | 100 mil. | 9 |
Instagram Application on Smartphones (Region Wise)
31.) There are roughly 3.5 billion smartphone users globally, and 28.57% of users have the Instagram application installed on them.
Although some emerging nations have large populations, smartphone adoption rates are low. These are the markets where Instagram, like its parent firm Facebook (Meta), will experience the biggest growth in the upcoming years
Below is the breakdown to show a rough penetration rate of Instagram application in different nations.
| Country | Total population (Mil.) | Smartphone owners (Mil.) | Smartphone penetration (%) | Instagram users (Mil.) | Instagram penetration (%) |
| India | 1370 | 346 | 25.3 | 80 | 23.1 |
| USA | 329 | 260 | 79.1 | 120 | 46.2 |
| Indonesia | 270 | 83.9 | 31.1 | 63 | 75.1 |
| Brazil | 212 | 96.9 | 45.6 | 77 | 79.5 |
| Russia | 144 | 95.4 | 66.3 | 44 | 46.1 |
| Mexico | 132 | 65.6 | 49.5 | 24 | 36.6 |
| Japan | 127 | 72.6 | 57.2 | 29 | 39.9 |
| Turkey | 83 | 44.8 | 54 | 38 | 84.8 |
| Germany | 82.4 | 65.9 | 79.9 | 21 | 31.9 |
| United Kingdoms | 67 | 55.5 | 82.9 | 24 | 43.2 |
Sources: (eMarketer) (Statista) (Statista) (BankMyCell)
Instagram Bot Accounts & Influencer Economy.
32.) The number of bot accounts on Instagram was reported to be 95 million in 2020, implying that 4.75% of their 2 billion MAUs are false profiles.
33.) Instagram’s bogus bot accounts cost marketers an estimated $1.3 billion each year in the advertising ecosystem.
Source: (Basic Thinking)
Influencer Stats
Being a media-sharing platform, Instagram is a prominent participant in the influencer economy, where people receive money in part based on their follower count.
35.) Influencers are paid based on their follower count, and if it’s full of bots, marketers are the ones losing their money.
36.) If an influencer has 43,000 followers and consistently posts 8 posts and 8 stories every month, they may expect to make $37,442 per year. That is equal to the typical income of a UK citizen
37.) in 2019, bogus bot profiles cost brands $1.3 billion.
38.) Influencers with fewer than 10k followers get paid around $80-$90/post.
39.) Influencers with fewer than 100k followers are paid around $200/post
40.) Influencers with between 250k to 500k followers may expect to earn roughly $670/post
41.) Influencers with more than 1 mil. followers will be paid around $1900 for each post.
According to Instagram, 87% of individuals claim an influencer influenced them to make a purchasing decision. The data also suggests that around 70% of “shopping fanatics” use Instagram to find new products.
Even if users aren’t directly shopping from influencers, there’s no doubting their effect on maintaining Instagram’s status as a shopping destination along with a social media platform. Picture posts (78%) & Stories (73%) are viewed as the most successful kinds of content by people who engage in shopping from influencers.
Sources: (Ghostdata) (WSJ) (Wired) (PetalCard)
The Top 50 Instagram Influencers Have a follower count equivalent to World’s population
42.) The top 50 Instagram influencers have almost 7 bil. followers combined.
43.) As of 2017, the count was just around 4 bil. Now in 2022, these top Instagrammers have added approximately 70% more followers.
Most Instagram users by Region
44.) As of 2022, around 87% of Instagram’s 2 billion users who might potentially be targeted with ads are located outside of the United States.
45.) India has the most active accounts with 230.25 mil., followed by the US 159.75 million and Brazil takes the third position with 119.45 million users.
Below is the table of Instagram users region-wise.
| Nation | Users in 2022 (in mil.) |
| India | 230.25 million |
| USA | 159.75 million |
| Brazil | 119.45 million |
| Indonesia | 99.15 million |
| Russia | 63 million |
| Turkey | 52.15 million |
| Japan | 46.1 million |
| Mexico | 37.85 million |
| UK | 31.75 million |
| Germany | 29.85 million |
Source: (Statista)
Top 5 Nations with the largest Proportion of Instagram Users in Comparison to the Population.
| Nation | % of Population |
| Brunei | 89% |
| Kazakhstan | 82.7% |
| Turkey | 76.5% |
| Cyprus | 75.7% |
| Cayman Islands | 75.5% |
| Iceland | 73.8% |
| Guam | 72.8% |
| Chile | 72.3% |
| Sweden | 71.3% |
| Uruguay | 71.2% |
Instagram and its Rank Amongst the Social Media Giants
46.) With 2 billion active users, Instagram ranks 4th among the biggest social media networks globally as of 2022.
Parent corporation Meta (Facebook) owns 4 of the top 6 social networks (Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram).
| Social Media platform | Active users (2022) |
| 2.9 billion. | |
| YouTube | 2.291 billion. |
| 2 billion. | |
| 2 billion. | |
| FB Messenger | 1.3 billion. |
| 1.26 billion. | |
| TikTok | 1 billion. |
| 606 mil. | |
| Douyin | 600 mil. |
| Telegram | 550 mil. |
| Sina Weibo | 530 mil. |
| Snapchat | 514 mil. |
| Kuaishou | 481 mil. |
| 478 mil. | |
| 430 mil. | |
| 397 mil. | |
| Quora | 300 mil. |
Instagram Demographics
Expect to see all the Instagram demographics such as gender distribution, age-wise distribution, and much more in this section.
47.) The majority of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 34:
They form a handsome 61.6% of the total audience!
| Age Group | Share of Users |
| 13-17 | 8.5% |
| 18-24 | 30.1% |
| 25-34 | 31.5% |
| 35-44 | 16.1% |
| 45-54 | 8% |
| 55-64 | 3.6% |
| 65+ | 2.1% |
48.) the count of Males and female Instagrammers are equal:
Instagrammers self-identify themselves as 50.7% males and 49.3% females.
| Gender | Share of Users |
| Males | 50.7% |
| Females | 49.3% |
49.) Instagram is Gen Z’s favorite platform to socialize:
Instagram is preferred by individuals of age 16 to 24 over other social networks, even surpassing TikTok. If you want to reach that age group, Instagram appears to be the place to go.
50.) Males of Generation X are the fastest growing Instagram users:
The number of male users aged 55 – 64 who use Instagram increased by 63.6% in 2021. So, certainly, it’s a location where youngsters hang out, but don’t overlook the fact that other generations are engaged here as well.
51.) Instagram is used by 5% of youngsters under the age of 11 in the United States:
This is against Instagram’s user standards, which state that users must be at least 13 y/o to establish an account. Still, the platform is used by 11% of children aged 9 -11.
52.) 14 % of adults in the United States have never heard about Instagram:
While Instagram has a large following in the United States, it does not reach everyone. This fact makes it more critical to understand the audience.
Instagram Users in the United States by Location:
| Location | % of users |
| Urban | 45% |
| Sub-urban | 31% |
| Rural | 25% |
The Average age of a USA-Based Instagrammer
The majority of Instagram users in the USA belong to the 18 to 29 age group. They account for 71% of total American users
| Age Group | User % |
| 18 to 29 | 71% |
| 30 to 49 | 48% |
| 50 to 64 | 29% |
| Over 65 | 13% |
Income data of Instagrammers
| People’s income | User % |
| Earning < $29,999 | 35% |
| Earning between $30,000 to $74,999 | 39% |
| Earning > $75,000 | 42% |
Source: (Statista) (PEWResearch) (Statista)
Average No. of Instagram followers
According to a BrandWatch survey, Most Instagrammers have fewer than 1k followers. Micro-influencers, who generally have 50,000 – 100,000 fans, are used by businesses to advertise their products.
As you can see below, this accounts for just 0.94 percent of the platform’s entire population.
| No. of followers | User % |
| < 1,000 | 53.62% |
| 1001 – 10,000 | 38.03% |
| 10,001 – 50,000 | 6.2% |
| 50,001 – 100,000 | 0.94% |
| 100,001 – 500,000 | 0.94% |
| 500,001 – 10 mil. + | 0.27% |
Most Followed Instagram Profiles – Top 20
Leaving aside Instagram’s official profile, which is the most followed handle on the network, the top ranks are dominated by people from the music, sports, and the entertainment industry. Some of the celebrities on the list, such as Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, have increased their reputation and money by using platforms like these.
53.) Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed on Instagram, with 437 million followers, accounting for 21.85 % of the platform’s overall user population.
Below is the list of the top 20 most-followed people on the platform
| Instagram’s Username | Profile Name (Owner) | Followers (in mil.) | Profession |
| @cristiano | Cristiano Ronaldo | 437 | Footballer |
| @kyliejenner | Kylie Jenner | 334 | Television personality, model, and businesswoman |
| @leomessi | Lionel Messi | 323 | Footballer |
| @selenagomez | Selena Gomez | 317 | Musician, actress, producer, and businesswoman |
| @therock | Dwayne Johnson | 313 | Actor and professional wrestler |
| @arianagrande | Ariana Grande | 308 | Musician and actress |
| @kimkardashian | Kim Kardashian | 307 | Television personality, model, and businesswoman |
| @beyonce | Beyoncé | 254 | Musician, actress, producer, and businesswoman |
| @khloekardashian | Khloé Kardashian | 240 | Television personality and model |
| @kendalljenner | Kendall Jenner | 234 | Model and television personality |
| @justinbieber | Justin Bieber | 233 | Musician |
| @natgeo | National Geographic | 220 | Magazine |
| @nike | Nike | 216 | Sportswear multinational |
| @taylorswift | Taylor Swift | 208 | Musician |
| @jlo | Jennifer Lopez | 206 | Musician and actress |
| @virat.kohli | Virat Kohli | 194 | Cricketer |
| @nickiminaj | Nicki Minaj | 187 | Musician |
| @kourtneykardash | Kourtney Kardashian | 175 | Television personality and model |
| @neymarjr | Neymar | 173 | Footballer |
| @mileycyrus | Miley Cyrus | 169 | Musician and actress |
Source: (BrandWatch) (Statista) (Wikipedia)
The Average Amount of Time Spent on Instagram Every Day
54.) As per Instagram’s official report, users spend an average of 28 to 30 minutes each day on Instagram worldwide. This figure may be broken down into users under the age of 25, who spend 32 minutes/day, and users over the age of 25, who spend 24 minutes/day on the platform.
Additional Stats:
55.) Users of age below 25 spend more than 8 days each year on the network.
56.) Users of age over 25 spend more than 6 days each year on the network.
57.) A social media user spends 1 hour and 15 minutes on average each day on the platform.
58.) An average individual over the age of 18 will spend more than 19 days a year on social media across all platforms.
The introduction of Instagram Stories in 2016, which included features such as Boomerang & GIPHY stickers, has also led to an increase in the amount of time individuals spend on Instagram.
Source: (Instagram) (eMarketer)
Instagram Statistics for Businesses:
59.) 90% of Instagrammers follow at least one brand: Instagram is a place to build brand networks and enhance engagement with existing and potential consumers. Instagram delivers new business features on a regular basis. The platform also has a dedicated Instagram for Business handle to help you get started.
Know all about Instagram for Business by clicking HERE.
60.) Every month, A typical Instagram business profile gains 1.69% more Audience.
61.) One in every two people has used Instagram to explore new businesses: It’s a fantastic discovery tool! 50% of consumers use it to find new companies, goods, or services. Furthermore, two-thirds of respondents believe the platform promotes meaningful engagement with businesses.
62.) Instagram is used by 44% of individuals to purchase on a weekly basis: The shopping function was introduced recently, but it has already taken the retail industry by storm. According to an official Instagram report, 44 percent of users use the platform to shop on a weekly basis.
63.) In 2021, Instagram’s ad reach surpassed that of Facebook: Facebook’s worldwide ad. reach expanded by just 6.5%, while Instagram’s increased by a staggering 20.5%. If sponsored reach is a cornerstone of your social media plan. Take your business on the platform ASAP!
64.) Brands post 1.6 times/day on an average: Taking yearly posts into account, 62.7 % are images, and 16.3 % are videos. If you’ve been sticking to a photo-only strategy, now could be the time to branch out.
The Best Time To Post On Instagram
Below are the most popular Instagram traffic & engagement periods.
| Days | Ideal Time to Post | Peak Engagement Time |
| Monday | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm | 12:00 noon |
| Tuesday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm | 1:00 pm |
| Wednesday | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm | 11:00 am |
| Thursday | 10:00 – 3:00 pm | 11:00 am |
| Friday | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm | 11:00 am |
| Saturday | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | 10:00 am |
| Sunday | 9 am – 3:00 pm | 10:00 am |
NOTE: You might want to avoid publishing on Sundays because it has the lowest user involvement of the week.
How to Tackle the issue of Time Zones:
If your followers are from various nations or even the east and west coasts of the United States, this might affect your engagement.
The easiest approach to deal with this is to use Instagram’s insights function, which provides free statistics to all professional account users in the application itself.
To access it,
- navigate to your profile page and click the menu icon in the upper right corner.
- Select ‘insight’ from the list.
- Select the ‘audience tab’.
- scroll down to see the ‘Cities and location’ section.
By examining this data, you can determine what time zones the bulk of your users are in, and then arrange your posts around the top engagement periods We’ve shown above! Easy isn’t it?
Sources: (SproutSocial) (HubSpot)
Instagram Employee strength
65.) There are currently 450 people serving 1 billion monthly users. This is a minuscule figure when compared to parent corporation Meta’s Facebook, which has approximately 58,600 employees and 2.9 billion users.
In comparison to other successful social media players, Instagram has always managed to operate with a small crew. For e.g., Twitter employs 6,600 people and serves over one-third of Instagram’s MAUs.
Timeline of workforce
- Kevin Systrom begins development on Burbn (Instagram) (single employee)
- Mike Krieger joined the project in 2010, bringing the total number of staff to 2.
- 2012 expands to 13 staff and 30 million members before being acquired by Meta for half a billion $$.
- 2022, Twitter has 450 employees serving Over 1 Billion active users.
Related Statistics:
Conclusion: Instagram Statistics For Marketers [2022]
Making the most of Instagram necessitates understanding how to adapt. Hopefully, this detailed breakdown of Instagram statistics above will assist you to master it this year.
Now that you understand the significance of it, it’s time to discover how to harness Instagram for your business so you can put all your knowledge to use.
Which statistic on this list astonished you the most?
Or perhaps you have a statistic that we haven’t included here.
In any case, please let us know by posting a comment below.