In March 2025, Telegram founder Pavel Durov shared that Telegram hit 1 billion active users globally. Following this, he also disclosed that Telegram registered $547 million in profit last year.
In this article, we will go through the details of Telegram’s users, demographics, usage patterns, downloads, and financial data.
“Ahead of us stands WhatsApp — a cheap, watered-down imitation of Telegram. For years, they’ve desperately tried to copy our innovations while burning billions on lobbying and PR campaigns to slow us down. They failed. Telegram grew, became profitable, and — unlike our competitor — retained its independence.” – Pavel Durov (Quote reference from TechCrunch)
Telegram Statistics 2025: Key Highlights
- As of March 2025, Telegram has 1 billion active users (MAU).
- The platform boasts around 450 million daily active users (DAU).
- Globally, 10 million people have subscribed to Telegram Premium.
- 45% of the Indian population regularly uses Telegram, while just 9% of the American population uses the platform.
- 53.2% of Telegram users are aged between 25 and 44 years old.
- Users spend an average of 3 hours and 45 minutes per month on Telegram.
- Telegram generated $11.66 million in in-app revenue during the first two months of 2024.
- Since its launch, Telegram has raised over $4 billion.
How Many Users Does Telegram Have?
As of March 2025, Telegram hit 1 billion active users globally, jumping from 950 million monthly active users previously.
Additionally, around 2.5 million users join Telegram every day.
Here is a table displaying the monthly active users of Telegram by year:
| Month- Year | Telegram Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| March 2025 | 1 billion |
| Jul ’24 | 950 million |
| Apr ’24 | 900 million |
| Jul ’23 | 800 million |
| Nov ’22 | 700 million |
| Apr ’22 | 500 million |
| Apr ’20 | 400 million |
| Mar ’18 | 200 million |
| Dec ’17 | 180 million |
| Feb ’16 | 100 million |
| Sep ’15 | 60 million |
| Dec ’14 | 50 million |
| Mar ’14 | 35 million |
Source: Statista 1, Telegram, Statista 2.
Telegram Daily Active Users
Telegram has around around 500 million daily active users.
According to the latest data, Telegram has approximately 450 million daily active users, making up nearly half of its monthly active users who log in each day.
Source: Telegram
How Many People Use Telegram Premium?
Telegram surpassed 10 million premium users on September 6, 2024.
This marks a significant increase from January 2024, when the platform had 5 million paying users.
Telegram’s premium subscription offers a range of exclusive features, including 4 GB file uploads (compared to the standard 2 GB), faster download speeds, and access to premium stickers, among other perks.
Despite this growth in its paid user base, premium subscribers still account for only around 1% of Telegram’s total monthly active users, with the majority opting for the app’s free version.
The following table displays the number of Telegram Premium users recorded in the past years:
| Month Year | Telegram Premium Subscribers |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | 10 million |
| Jan 2024 | 5 million |
| Dec 2023 | 4 million |
| Oct 2023 | 3.5 million |
| Dec 2022 | 1 million |
| Aug 2022* | 0.26 million |
| Jul 2022* | 0.15 million |
Source: Statista, The Rio Times.
Telegram Users By Country
In India, 45% of the population regularly uses Telegram.
According to a survey by Statista, nearly half of the people in India used Telegram. Other countries with high Telegram usage include Brazil and Mexico, where 38% and 34% of people use the app, respectively. In contrast, only 9% of people in the United States reported using Telegram regularly.
Meanwhile, another survey conducted in March 2024 found that around 51% of Russian citizens use the platform.
The following table displays the Telegram usage by country:
| Country | Share of Respondents Who Use Telegram |
|---|---|
| India | 45% |
| Brazil | 38% |
| Mexico | 34% |
| South Africa | 32% |
| Spain | 32% |
| Italy | 29% |
| Germany | 16% |
| France | 11% |
| United Kingdom | 10% |
| United States | 9% |
| Japan | 1% |
Source: Statista, Levada Center.
Who Uses Telegram The Most?
Telegram is used most by male adults aged 25 to 44 years.
Let’s take a look at the detailed breakdown of the Telegram users in this section.
Telegram User Age Demographics
Over half of Telegram users are aged 25 to 44 years.
Meanwhile, just one-fourth of the Telegram users are aged below 24 years as of 2023.
Further, 21.6% of Telegram users are over 45 years old.
Here is a table showing the distribution of Telegram users by age:
| Age Group | Share of Telegram Users |
|---|---|
| Up to 17 | 6.4% |
| 18 to 24 | 18.8% |
| 25 to 34 | 29.4% |
| 35 to 44 | 23.8% |
| Over 45 years | 21.6% |
Telegram User Gender Demographics
58% of the Telegram users are male.
A large share of Telegram users are recorded to be male as of October 2023.
On the other hand, female users make up 42% of the Telegram user share.
Here is a table displaying the gender distribution of the Telegram users:
| Gender | Share of Users |
|---|---|
| Male | 58% |
| Female | 42% |
Telegram App Downloads
The Telegram App was downloaded 34.33 million times in February 2024.
Comparatively, in January 2024, the app was downloaded 36.87 million times, and 35.02 million in December 2023.
Besides, the number of Telegram downloads reached its highest in October 2023, when the app was downloaded 42.61 million times.
Here is a table displaying the number of Telegram downloads recorded between February 2023 and February 2024.
| Month- Year | Number of Downloads |
|---|---|
| Feb 2024 | 34.33 million |
| Jan 2024 | 36.87 million |
| Dec 2023 | 35.02 million |
| Nov 2023 | 36.92 million |
| Oct 2023 | 42.61 million |
| Sep 2023 | 36.28 million |
| Aug 2023 | 38.25 million |
| Jul 2023 | 33.97 million |
| Jun 2023 | 32.19 million |
| May 2023 | 32.86 million |
| Apr 2023 | 29.74 million |
| Mar 2023 | 29.31 million |
| Feb 2023 | 28.47 million |
Source: Statista
Telegram Downloads By Country
With 83.85 million downloads, India is the country with the most Telegram users.
In 2023, India recorded the highest number of Telegram App downloads worldwide. Meanwhile, Russia recorded the second-highest Telegram app downloads worldwide at 35.06 million.
However, there was a huge difference in the number of total Telegram App downloads recorded in India and Russia.
Besides, the United States recorded the third-highest Telegram downloads in 2023, at 29.92 million downloads.
The following table displays the number of Telegram app downloads by Country as of 2023.
| Country | Number of Downloads |
|---|---|
| India | 83.85 million |
| Russia | 35.06 million |
| United States | 29.92 million |
| Indonesia | 24.34 million |
| Brazil | 22.83 million |
| Vietnam | 17.55 million |
| Ukraine | 11.77 million |
| Kazakhstan | 9.36 million |
| France | 7.45 million |
| United Kingdom | 6.04 million |
| Malaysia | 5.52 million |
| Italy | 4.14 million |
Source: Statista
Telegram Downloads By Year
Telegram was downloaded 409.48 million times in 2023.
That’s an increase of 6.94%, or nearly 27 million downloads, compared to 382.92 million Telegram downloads recorded in 2021.
The following table provides further details about the number of the Telegram app downloads by year:
| Year | Number of Telegram App Downloads |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 409.48 million |
| 2021 | 382.92 million |
| 2022 | 367.23 million |
| 2020 | 326.31 million |
| 2019 | 141.5 million |
| 2018 | 87.02 million |
| 2017 | 67.77 million |
| 2016 | 53.58 million |
| 2015 | 40.33 million |
Source: Statista
Telegram App Downloads By Region
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) recorded the highest Telegram downloads in Q4 2023, reaching 46.17 million.
The second-highest Telegram downloads were recorded in the Asia Pacific region of 44.45 million, while North America and Latin America recorded a total Telegram download of 23.93 million in the same quarter.
Here is a table displaying the number of Telegram downloads recorded in the APAC, EMEA, and NALA regions over the past quarters.
| Quarter | APAC | EMEA | NALA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Q4 | 44.45 million | 46.17 million | 23.93 million |
| 2023 Q3 | 44.99 million | 40.74 million | 22.77 million |
| 2023 Q2 | 38.57 million | 34.96 million | 21.26 million |
| 2023 Q1 | 38.07 million | 33.77 million | 19.8 million |
| 2022 Q4 | 39.94 million | 33.29 million | 17.53 million |
| 2022 Q3 | 38.24 million | 30.77 million | 17.89 million |
| 2022 Q2 | 42.25 million | 33.54 million | 17.74 million |
| 2022 Q1 | 44.89 million | 33.01 million | 18.14 million |
| 2021 Q4 | 46.94 million | 32.48 million | 19.17 million |
| 2021 Q3 | 40.16 million | 26.7 million | 17.91 million |
Source: Statista.
How Much Time Do Telegram Users Spend On The App?
Users spend an average of 3 hours and 45 minutes monthly on Telegram as of 2024.
As of January 2024, social media users spend the 8th highest amount of time on Telegram compared to other social media platforms.
The following table displays the time spent on Telegram App compared to other social media apps.
| Social Media Platform | Time Spent On The Platform Per Month |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 34 hours |
| YouTube | 28 hours and 5 minutes |
| 19 hours and 47 minutes | |
| WhatsApp Messenger | 17 hours and 6 minutes |
| 15 hours and 50 minutes | |
| Line | 8 hours and 14 minutes |
| X (Twitter) | 4 hours and 40 minutes |
| Telegram | 3 hours and 45 minutes |
| Snapchat | 3 hours and 33 minutes |
| FB Messenger | 3 hours and 21 minutes |
| 1 hour and 49 minutes | |
| LinkedIn App | 51 minutes |
Source: Data Reportal.
Telegram App Session Duration
On average, a session on Telegram lasts for 1 minute and 21 seconds.
That means each time a user opens the Telegram app on Android, the usage session usually lasts for 81 seconds.
Telegram has the 8th highest session duration compared to other social media apps on Android.
Here is a table displaying the session duration of Telegram in comparison to other social media platforms:
| Social Media Platform | Average Session Duration |
|---|---|
| YouTube | 7 minutes 25 seconds |
| TikTok | 5 minutes and 56 seconds |
| 3 minutes and 42 seconds | |
| 2 minutes and 44 seconds | |
| 2 minutes and 11 seconds | |
| X (Twitter) | 2 minutes and 11 seconds |
| Snapchat | 1 minute and 23 seconds |
| Telegram | 1 minute and 21 seconds |
| Line | 1 minute 21 seconds |
| 1 minute 13 seconds | |
| WhatsApp Messenger | 1 minute and 6 seconds |
| FB Messenger | 1 minute and 6 seconds |
Source: Data Reportal.
Telegram Revenue
Telegram generated an in-app revenue of almost $6.1 million in February 2024.
That’s an increase of almost $0.6 million in In-App purchases compared to that recorded in January 2024.
Of that, $4.86 million was generated through the Apple App Store, and $1.22 million was generated through Google Play Store.
The majority of this revenue comes from Telegram Premium, a subscription model introduced in June 2022. It provides its users access to extra features like extended limits, uploads of larger files, and faster-downloading speed.
The following table displays the In-App revenue generated by the Telegram App through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store recorded over the past months.
| Month-Year | Apple App Store | Google Play Store |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2024 | 4.86 million | 1.22 million |
| Jan 2024 | 4.44 million | 1.14 million |
| Dec 2023 | 3.87 million | 0.97 million |
| Nov 2023 | 3.35 million | 0.82 million |
| Oct 2023 | 3.18 million | 0.79 million |
| Sep 2023 | 2.94 million | 0.78 million |
| Aug 2023 | 3.09 million | 0.73 million |
| Jul 2023 | 2.86 million | 0.63 million |
| Jun 2023 | 2.30 million | 0.57 million |
| May 2023 | 2.45 million | 0.62 million |
Source: Statista
Telegram Funding Statistics
Telegram has raised more than $4 billion since its launch in 2013.
The platform received the latest funding of $330 million through capital bond sales in March 2024.
Meanwhile, in June 2023, the platform received $270 million in funds.
Here are further details about the findings received by the Telegram app between March 2018 and March 2024 in the table below:
| Date | Funding Received |
|---|---|
| Mar 18, 2024 | 0.33 billion |
| Jul 18, 2023 | 0.27 billion |
| Apr 28, 2021 | 0.75 billion |
| Mar 15 and 23, 2021 | 1 billion |
| Mar 1, 2018 | 1.7 billion |
Source: Statista.
Telegram Availability Over The World
Telegram app can be downloaded in around 175 countries from the iOS App Store.
At the same time, Telegram can be downloaded from the Play Store in 133 of the 141 countries where the Google Play Store operates.
Further, Telegram is available on Windows in 107 countries out of 109 countries where the Windows store currently operates.
Source: Appfigures
Telegram Feature Statistics
- Telegram’s group chats allow up to 200,000 people.
- Users can upload up to 2 GB of files on Telegram groups, while premium users can upload up to 4 GB of files.
- Over 10 million bots are hosted on Telegram’s free bot platform which allows the developers to create simple chatbots and mini apps.
Source: Telegram
Telegram Channel Statistics
50% of the display ad revenue goes to Telegram Channel Owners.
Telegram Channel owners with a minimum of 1000 subscribers can now take half of the revenue generated by ads displayed on their channels. The channel owners can withdraw money with no fees.
They can also reinvest it into ads, collectible usernames, and other additional paid perks on Telegram.
The channel owners can withdraw their money their money through the integrated Fragment Website.
Source: ZDNet.
Top Telegram Channels
Telegram Tips is the most popular channel on Telegram, with 10.89 million subscribers.
Telegram News and Telegram Premium are the third and the second most popular Telegram Channels, with 7.34 million and 7.11 million subscribers, respectively.
Other popular channels on Telegram are Proxy MTProto and Notcoin Community.
Here is a table displaying the most popular channels on Telegram according to the number of subscribers.
| Channel Names | Number of Subscribers |
|---|---|
| Telegram Tips | 10,892,338 |
| Telegram Premium | 7 340 751 |
| Telegram News | 7,108,895 |
| Proxy MTProto | 7 108 506 |
| Notcoin Community | 6 102 462 |
| iRo Proxy | پروکسی | 4 444 398 |
| Proxy MTProto | پروکسی | 4 398 203 |
| Communities | 3 840 578 |
| Wʜᴀʟᴇ | 💵 |Signal – Crypto – Forex – Bitcoin – بیتکوین – فارکس – کریپتو – سیگنال | 3 466 286 |
| iPapkorn | 3 324 291 |
Source: Nicegram.
Most Popular Telegram Channel Categories
The News Channel was the most popular channel type on Telegram, and 85% of the Telegram users followed it.
Meanwhile, entertainment channels are the second most popular category, while educational channels come in third.
Besides, half of the Telegram users follow political channels, making it the fourth most popular channel category on Telegram.
Here is a table displaying the most popular channel categories on Telegram according to the share of Telegram users that follow them:
| Channel Category | Share of Telegram Users That Follow The Category |
|---|---|
| News channels | 85% |
| Entertainment channels | 62% |
| Educational channels | 58% |
| Political channels | 50% |
| News from own industry | 48% |
| Personal channels of friends | 45% |
| Channels on special military operation | 36% |
| Channels of bloggers and celebrities | 31% |
| Internal channels of companies | 19% |
| Channels of brands/companies | 17% |
| Channels on products and discounts | 16% |
| Channels with job offers | 14% |
| Channels for adults | 13% |
| Darknet-channels | 4% |
Source: Statista
Telegram E-commerce Related Statistics
Telegram generated the largest sales volume through the segment of goods from China, amounting to $12 million in sales.
Meanwhile, the second-highest sales were generated from digital equipment, amounting to $5.52 million in sales.
Other top segments that generated a large sales volume on the app were consumer loans and apparel and shoes.
Here is a table displaying the sales volume on Telegram worldwide recorded for the top segments.
| Segment | Sales Volume on Telegram |
|---|---|
| Goods from China | $12 million |
| Digital Equipments | $5.52 million |
| Consume loans | $3.12 million |
| Apparel and Shoes | $2.14 million |
| Sport | $0.86 million |
| Work and Education | $0.57 million |
| Hypermarkets | $0.45 million |
| Health and Beauty | $0.25 million |
| Furniture and household goods | $0.063 million |
| Food Delivery | $0.057 million |
Source: Statista.
Telegram Security Statistics
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested in August 2024 on the allegations that Telegram is being used for illicit activities.
The claims stated that the app was used for drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.
These issues started to rise as people discovered that Telegram’s communication encryption is not on by default; users have to switch to the option to encrypt their chats. Plus, this feature does not work with group chats.
French media brought it into the limelight that Durov was detained on an arrest warrant that alleged Telegram was used for money laundering, drug trafficking, and other offenses.
Source: The Hindu.
Telegram is being investigated in India over multiple cases.
Telegram played a vital role in illicit operations in India, from distributing the leaked paper to manipulating stock prices and extortion.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) uncovered the stock-price racket that operated through Telegram on July 24th. The owner of that Telegram group received ₹20 lakhs in commission from the individuals connected to the listed steel sheet manufacturing firm.
Apart from that, two men from Bhopal, India, duped a local doctor of ₹38 lakhs by impersonating police officers and conducting a fake “interrogation”. The authorities arrested them on May 3rd, 2024.
Apart from these crimes, Telegram was used to leak the UGC-NET and NEET-UG papers in June 19th and May 3rd 2023, respectively.
Source: Hindustan Times.
Malicious actors sold tools needed to run a phishing scam for just $230 on Telegram.
Telegram has become a popular platform among scammers and cybercriminals for carrying out malicious activities.
Guardio, a cybersecurity startup, discovered that cyber criminals were buying and selling social media accounts, credit cards, and bank account logins through Telegram. Also, the scammers misused the blue “verified” checkmarks in order to deceive the users.
Source: PCMag.
Most Expensive Telegram Usernames Sold
@news is the most expensive Telegram username sold on the auction platform Fragment.
The username was sold on November 2022 for 994 thousand Toncoin. As of April 2024, its exchange rate is approximately $5.81 million.
The second most expensive Telegram username was sold for $5.27 million on Fragment.
Fragment is an exchange platform launched in October 2022, used to buy and sell Telegram usernames by cryptocurrency Toncoin.
The following table displays the most expensive Telegram usernames sold as of April 2024:
| Telegram Usernames | Sales Price |
|---|---|
| @news | 5.81 million |
| @auto | 5.27 million |
| @bank | 4.97 million |
| @avia | 4.68 million |
| @chat | 4.1 million |
| @king | 3.95 million |
| @fifa | 3.51 million |
| @game | 2.93 million |
| @sber | 2.76 million |
| @meta | 2.36 million |
Source: Statista
Telegram Usage Statistics
Telegram is the 8th most popular Social media platform worldwide as of 2024.
In April, Telegram had 900 million users and was the 8th most popular social network worldwide. Currently, it has 950 million users and is set to cross 1 billion monthly active users in 2024.
However, if Telegram gets banned in India, it is more likely to get lower in the list as the majority of Telegram users are from the country.
Here is a table displaying the position of Telegram among other social media platforms.
| Social Media Platform | Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| 3,065 million | |
| YouTube | 2,504 million |
| 2,000 million | |
| WhatsApp¹ | 2,000 million |
| TikTok | 1,582 million |
| 1,343 million | |
| Facebook Messenger | 1,010 million |
| Telegram | 900 million |
| Snapchat | 800 million |
| Douyin | 755 million |
| Kuaishou | 700 million |
| X/Twitter | 611 million |
| 598 million | |
| 554 million | |
| 498 million |
Source: Statista.
Telegram’s Popularity Among Mobile Messenger Apps
Telegram is the fourth most popular mobile messaging worldwide as of April 2024.
Apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger are ahead of it in popularity with higher monthly active users.
The following table displays the popularity of Telegram among other smartphone messaging apps according to the monthly active users.
| Mobile Messaging App | Number of Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp* | 2,000 million |
| Weixin / WeChat | 1,343 million |
| Facebook Messenger** | 1,010 million |
| Telegram | 900 million |
| Snapchat | 800 million |
| 554 million |
Source: Statista
Conclusion: Telegram Surpassed 1 Billion Monthly Active Users
Telegram’s user base is predominantly male, with approximately 58% identifying as male and 42% as female. The platform is particularly popular among young adults, with over 29% of users aged between 25 and 34 and more than 25% aged 24 and under.
In terms of engagement, users worldwide spend an average of over four hours per month on Telegram, ranking it as the eighth most popular social media platform and the fourth most popular messaging platform based on time spent.
This increased usage can be attributed to the introduction of features like Telegram Premium and Telegram Business, which have enhanced the platform’s appeal and functionality.
