Social media platforms are on a meteoric rise globally. Facebook is the leader in this race, with 3.03 billion members. But did you ever wonder how many people use social media? We did, too, so we did our research and found that as of 2023, 4.9 billion out of the 8.1 billion people on the globe use social media.
These numbers also mean that one in three people worldwide socialize on various platforms.
In this blog, we’ll take a look at the social media user trends across the globe and explore what they mean for brands and businesses in 2023.
Social Media User Statistics 2023 (Top Picks)
- There are 4.9 billion social media users globally, meaning 60.49% of the global population use Social media.
- The global social media users are forecasted to reach 5.85 billion by 2027.
- Facebook is the biggest social media platform, with 3.03 billion users.
- The global social network penetration rate is 59.4%.
- A typical social media user interacts with 6.6 social media platforms.
- Eastern Asia has the most social media users (26%) as of 2023.
- Social media is used by 85% of the world’s 5.27 billion mobile phone users.
- China, with 1.02 billion users, is the country with the most social media users. India and the United States make it to the top three with 755.47 million and 302.25 million users, respectively.
- An average person uses social media for two hours and thirty-five minutes every day.
- Millennials and Gen Z are the most frequent users of social media platforms.
- The fastest-growing social network is TikTok, which has had a startling 105% user increase in the US during the last two years.
How Many People Use Social Media?
There are 4.9 billion people accessing social media globally as of 2023.
An average social media user hops between 6 to 7 platforms every month.
While there are many factors contributing to this user growth, the global penetration of smartphones is the most evident one.
Here is a table showing the number of social media users over the years:
| Year | Social Media User |
|---|---|
| 2027* | 5.85 billion |
| 2026* | 5.64 billion |
| 2025* | 5.42 billion |
| 2024* | 5.17 billion |
| 2023 | 4.90 billion |
| 2022 | 4.59 billion |
| 2021 | 4.26 billion |
| 2020 | 3.9 billion |
| 2019 | 3.51 billion |
| 2018 | 3.1 billion |
| 2017 | 2.73 billion |
Most Popular Social Media Platform
with 3.03 billion Monthly Active Users (MAUs), Facebook is the biggest social media platform in the world as of 2023.
Whatsapp (2.7 billion MAUs) and YouTube (2.7 billion MAUs) comprise the top 3.
Most social networks provide growth data regarding the number of monthly active users rather than registered profiles because this data is more reliable for evaluating real use and geographical penetration.
This table shows the biggest social media platforms globally as of 2023:
| Social Media Platform | Number of Users |
|---|---|
| 3.03 billion | |
| 2.7 billion | |
| Youtube | 2.7 billion |
| 2.5 billion | |
| 1.67 billion | |
| TikTok | 1.67 billion |
| Facebook Messenger | 988 million |
| Snapchat | 750 million |
| Telegram | 700 million |
| Douyin | 600 million |
| 574 million | |
| Sina Weibo | 573 million |
| Kuaishou | 573 million |
| 450 million | |
| 450 million | |
| 430 million | |
| Quora | 300 million |
Interested In Platform Specific Stats? Explore our detailed reports on these social media platforms:
How Many Accounts Does An Average Social Media User Have?
The average number of social media accounts held by millennial or Gen Z users worldwide is 8.5.
According to research on 46 nations with internet users aged between 16 and 64, Japan had the lowest overall number of social media accounts at 3.8, while India had the highest at 11.5 accounts per user.
Here is a list of countries with users who have multiple social media accounts:
| Country | Average Social Media Accounts Per Person |
|---|---|
| India | 11.4 |
| The United States | 7.1 |
| The United Kingdom | 6.9 |
| Canada | 6.8 |
| Japan | 3.8 |
Users are accessing multiple social media and they are searching their favorite brands on all of them. It is very critical for brands to manage their social media portfolio efficiently. So make sure you have uniformity over platforms!
Which Country Has the Most Social Media Users?
With around 1.02 billion users, China has the most social media users worldwide. Statista predicts that the number of Chinese social media users will reach 1.21 billion in 2027.
India has the second biggest social media user base, with 755.47 million users. The United States and Indonesia follow with 302.25 and 217.53 million users, respectively.
This table shows countries with the most social media users:
| Country | Users In 2023 | Predicted number of users by 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| China | 1,021.96 million | 1,212.38 million |
| India | 755.47 million | 1,177.5 million |
| USA | 302.25 million | 327.22 million |
| Indonesia | 217.53 million | 261.7 million |
| Brazil | 165.45 million | 188.35 million |
| Russia | 115.05 million | 126.37 million |
| Japan | 101.98 million | 113.03 million |
| Mexico | 98.21 million | 122.07 million |
| Philippines | 84.07 million | 92.68 million |
| Vietnam | 72.29 million | 81.63 million |
| Turkey | 67.11 million | 76.58 million |
| UK | 61.67 million | 65.23 million |
| Germany | 60.88 million | 73.15 million |
| Thailand | 56.27 million | 59.32 million |
| France | 48.71 million | 56.62 million |
| South Korea | 46.09 million | 47.61 million |
| Italy | 43.31 million | 46.89 million |
| Nigeria | 38.47 million | 91.55 million |
| Canada | 34.47 million | 38.93 million |
| Bangladesh | 24.49 million | 33.6 million |
An interesting thing to note from the above table is that Nigeria is predicted to have a growth of more than 137% in the number of social media users by 2027.
World Regions With The Most Social Media Users in 2023
As of 2023, Eastern Asia has 26% of the world’s social media users, putting it at the top spot. Central Africa has the lowest portion of social media users, with 0.46%.
Knowing the strength of a region’s user base helps social media marketers to formulate their policies.
This table shows the share of social media users in different regions of the world:
| World Region | Social Media Users |
|---|---|
| East Asia | 26% |
| South Asia | 18.44% |
| South-East Asia | 11.02% |
| North America | 9.47% |
| South America | 6.68% |
| Central & Western Europe | 5.7% |
| East Europe | 4% |
| South Europe | 3.99% |
| West Asia | 3.57% |
| North Africa | 3.36% |
| West Africa | 1.93% |
| East Africa | 1.44% |
| Southern Africa | 0.99% |
| North Europe | 0.64% |
| Australia and Oceania | 0.61% |
| Central America | 0.60% |
| Central Asia | 0.58% |
| Caribbean | 0.54% |
| Central Africa | 0.46% |
Gender of Global Social Media Users
54% of social media users are men, while 46% are women.
If we calculate this share in terms of users, then we get the following numbers:
| Gender | Number Of Social Media Users |
|---|---|
| Male | 2.64 billion |
| Female | 2.25 billion |
- 76% of all females and 72% of all males in the US have a social media account.
- In the United Kingdom, 80% of all males and 84% of all females have a social media account.
If we consider world regions, we further get interesting figures.
Here is a table showing the gender of social media users across world regions:
| World Region | Share of Male Users | Share of Female Users |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 46% | 54% |
| South America | 48% | 52% |
| West Europe | 50% | 50% |
| Southern Africa | 48% | 52% |
| South Asia | 73% | 27% |
| Oceania | 47% | 53% |
Gender of Social Media Platform Users
Earlier, we discussed the gender of overall social media users; let’s now discuss the gender split of various social media platforms.
- Facebook’s user base consists of 56.6% of male and 43.4% female users.
- Females make up 53.8% of Snapchat’s user base.
- Instagram has quite an even gender split, with 49.3% female and 50.7% male users.
Here is a table showing the gender split of top social media platforms:
| Platform | Male Users | Female Users |
|---|---|---|
| 56.6% | 43.4% | |
| 50.7% | 49.3% | |
| Snapchat | 45.4% | 53.8% |
| 56.4% | 43.6% | |
| Tik Tok | 43% | 57% |
| Youtube | 53.9% | 46.1% |
| 57.2% | 42.8% |
Sources: Statista, Demandsage, Growth Devil.
Social Media Penetration By Country in 2023
The global penetration rate of social media is 59.4%.
- Regarding countries, UAE leads the way with a social media penetration rate of 106.1%.
- Nigeria, whose social media users are projected to reach 91 million by 2027, has a very low penetration rate of 15.4%.
- India, which has the second most social media users in the world, has a penetration rate of just 33.4%
- The United States of America has a penetration rate of 80.9%.
This table shows the social media penetration rate of countries:
| Country | Social Media Penetration Rate |
|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | 106.1%* |
| Malaysia | 91.7% |
| South Korea | 91.2% |
| Sweden | 90.8% |
| Netherlands | 90.7% |
| Singapore | 89.5% |
| Taiwan | 89.4% |
| New Zealand | 89.2% |
| Hong Kong | 88.1% |
| Spain | 87.1% |
| Canada | 87.1% |
| Germany | 86.5% |
| Argentina | 86.3% |
| Switzerland | 86.2% |
| Denmark | 85.3% |
| United Kingdom | 84.3% |
| Portugal | 83.7% |
| Australia | 82.7% |
| Philippines | 82.4% |
| Saudi Arabia | 82.3% |
| Belgium | 81.7% |
| Austria | 81.4% |
| Colombia | 81.3% |
| Thailand | 81.2% |
| Japan | 81.1% |
| United States | 80.9% |
| Turkey | 80.8% |
| France | 80.3% |
| Brazil | 79.9% |
| Israel | 79.7% |
| Ireland | 79% |
| Mexico | 78.3% |
| Russia | 72.7% |
| China | 68% |
| India | 33.4% |
The above table has values above 100%. That is due to the survey’s limitations. Here is the source of the original study.
- Northern Europe has the highest social media penetration rate (83.6%)
Here is a table showing the social media penetration rate by world regions:
| World Region | Social Media Penetration Rate |
|---|---|
| Northern Europe | 83.6% |
| Western Europe | 83.3% |
| Southern Europe | 76.7% |
| Northern America | 73.9% |
| Eastern Asia | 72% |
| Southern America | 71.3% |
| Eastern Europe | 70.5% |
| Central America | 67.5% |
| Southeastern Asia | 63.7% |
| Western Asia | 63.6% |
| Oceania | 62% |
| Caribbean | 50.6% |
| Northern Africa | 48.8% |
| Southern Africa | 41.3% |
| Southern Asia | 32.5% |
| Central Asia | 27.4% |
| Western Africa | 13.3% |
| Eastern Africa | 8.4% |
| Middle Africa | 7.4% |
| Global | 59.4% |
Social Media Advertisement Statistics
- In 2023, advertisement spending in the Social Media Advertising market is expected to reach $226.00 billion.
- Advertisement expenditures are estimated to grow at 11.24% annually (CAGR 2022-2027), resulting in a market volume of $384.90 billion by 2027.
- In terms of worldwide advertisement spending, the United States will generate the most revenue ($80,670 million) in 2023.
- It is estimated that mobile will produce $384.90 billion in total ad spending by 2027 In the Social Media Advertising market.
- The number of users in the Social Media Advertising segment is estimated to reach 5,851.53 million by 2027.
- 77% of marketers retarget Facebook and Instagram advertising as a marketing strategy to grow their brand and increase its reach.
Bonus: Look at our social media statistics for further insights into social media advertising and marketing facts and figures.
USA-Specific Social Media Statistics
Most of the top social media platforms worldwide have headquarters in the US. Being a world leader and first-world country, knowing how things look like in the US social media scene is quite crucial, especially if you are someone who is targeting specifically the US audience.
The USA has 302.35 million social media users as of 2023. That means 90% of the total US population uses social media actively.
- Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the US, with 74.2% of adults using it.
Here is a table showing the most popular social media platforms in the USA:
| Platform | Share of Adults using it |
|---|---|
| 74.2% | |
| 60.7% | |
| Tik Tok | 42.4% |
| 41.8% | |
| 39.0% | |
| Snapchat | 38.7% |
| 28.7% | |
| 28.6% | |
| 27.9% |
Gender Split of Social Media Users in the USA
In America, women are more likely to use social media:
- 76% Females.
- 72% Males.
Race Of Social Media Users in the USA
The majority of Social Media users in the USA are Hispanic (80%).
- 77% are Black
- 69% are White
Age of Social Media Users in the USA
It comes without surprise that Gen Z and Millenials make up the majority of the US population using social media.
Here is a table showing the age distribution of Social Media users in the US:
| Age Group | Share of Users |
|---|---|
| 18-29 | 84% |
| 30-49 | 81% |
| 50-64 | 73% |
| Over 65 | 45% |
Source: Statista, Pew Research, Backlinko.
Other Important Statistics Associated with US Social Media Users.
- TikTok is the most downloaded social media app in the US.
- 78% of social media users in the US Adults use Facebook regularly.
- Facebook.com is the website with the highest share of visits in the US.
- There are nearly 180 million Facebook users in the US.
- 50.64% of US TikTok users access the platform daily.
- Twitter has 86% brand awareness in the US, followed by Snapchat (84%), Pinterest (79%), and Reddit (68%).
Timeline of Social Media
This section lists some of the most significant “moments” in social media history. From the initial social networking site (developed in the 1990s) to the most current improvements to platforms with billions of users.
1997: ‘SixDegrees.com’ was the first ever social media site, launched in May 1997
1998: ‘Open Diary’ established the first social blogging network, pioneering the reader comment and friend-only content.
1999: YouthStream Media Networks pays $125 million for acquiring SixDegrees.com.
- Yahoo! Messenger is Launched.
- MSN Messenger is Launched.
2000: ‘Habbo,’ a game-based social networking site, launches.
2001: ‘SixDegrees.com’ shuts down 🙁
- Windows Messenger is now available and included with Windows XP.
2002: ‘Friendster,’ a social networking and game site, is launched.
2003: ‘LinkedIn,’ a business-oriented social networking platform, is launched.
- ‘MySpace’ is launched.
- ‘Skype’ is launched.
2004: ‘Facebook,’ the world’s most popular social networking service today, is launched. It now has audio and video calling capabilities and a popular instant messaging service.
- ‘Flickr’ is launched.
- Google launches ‘Orkut’, a social networking website.
- ‘News Corporation’ pays $580 million for ‘Myspace.’
2005: Qzone, a Chinese social networking site, goes live.
- Reddit is launched, an American social news collection, web content rating, and discussion website.
- Yahoo! acquires ‘Flickr.’
2006: ‘Twitter’ is Launched. (It now has 436 million MAUs)
- VK (VKontakte), a popular Russia-based social networking platform similar to Facebook, is launched.
- Facebook has launched its News Feed. The News feed is a continually refreshed summary of updates about one’s friends’ activities.
2007: ‘Tumblr’ is launched.
2009: ‘Sina Weibo,’ a Chinese microblogging network, goes live.
2010: ‘Pinterest’ makes its debut.
- ‘Instagram’ is launched.
- ‘Quora’ is launched.
2011: ‘Snapchat’ is launched.
- Microsoft acquires Skype for $8.5 billion.
- ‘Google+’ is launched.
- Myspace is sold to Specific Media by News Corp. for $35 million
- LinkedIn issues its IPO.
- ‘Twitch’ is launched.
2012: ‘Facebook’ goes public.
- ‘Snapchat is launched’
- ‘Tinder’ is launched.
- Facebook acquires Instagram for $1 billion.
2013: ‘Vine’ is launched and is quickly taken over by Twitter for $30 million.
- Twitter files for its IPO.
- ‘Google Hangout’ is launched.
- Myspace relaunches with a redesigned website and a mobile app.
2014: ‘Musical.ly’ is launched.
- Amazon acquires Twitch for $970 million.
- Google shuts down Orkut.
2015: ‘Periscope,’ a live video-sharing app, was launched and quickly acquired by Twitter.
- ‘Discord’ is launched.
2016: Yahoo! stopped its services for Mac, Windows, Solaris, and Linux users. Yahoo! the Messenger, will now only be supported on Android, iOS, and web clients.
- Time Inc. buys Myspace and its parent company.
2017: ByteDance acquires Musical.ly for $1 billion.
- Snapchat files for its IPO.
- ‘TikTok’ is launched.
2018: ‘Yahoo! Messenger is shut down.
- Musical.ly shuts down and migrates its users to TikTok.
2019: Google+ shuts down
2020: ‘Clubhouse’ is launched.
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Conclusion: Social Media Users (2023)
This was my detailed take on social media statistics as of 2023.
The rise of social media is an astonishing example of how rapidly and dramatically behavioral patterns can change: something that is now part of the daily lives of more than 50% of the world’s population was inconceivable less than a generation ago.
Did you enjoy reading this post? Let us know in the comments if we missed anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Facebook, with over 3.03 billion users, is the biggest social media platform in the world. It is a tie between Youtube and Whatsapp for the second spot with both platforms having 2.7 billion users as of 2023.
There are over 100 small and big social media platforms that exist as of 2023, but only a few of them have a significant amount of userbase and are popular globally.
Although the first social media dates back to 1997, global social media usage grew quickly during the 2010s.
