Number of global social media users 2010-2021

Published by J. Clement, Aug 14, 2019

How many people use social media in the world?

Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2018, an estimated 2.65
billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to almost
3.1 billion in 2021. 

Social network usage worldwide

Social network penetration is constantly increasing worldwide and as of January 2019 stood
at 45 percent. This figure is anticipated to grow as lesser developed digital markets catch up
with other regions when it comes to infrastructure development and the availability of cheap
mobile devices. In fact, most of social media’s global growth is driven by the increasing
usage of mobile devices. Mobile-first market Eastern Asia topped the global ranking
of mobile social networking penetration, followed by established digital powerhouses such
as the Americas and Northern Europe. 

The average time per day spent on social media varies greatly by country. Whilst U.S. users
spent approximately one hour and 57 minutes using social media each day, the Philippines
ranked first in terms of user engagement. The average time per day spent on social media
in the country amounted to four hours and one minute, twice the amount of time spent by
U.S. users. 

Most popular social networks

Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered
accounts and currently boasts approximately 2.4 billion monthly active users, making it
the most popular social network worldwide. By comparison, photo-sharing app Instagram
had one billion monthly active accounts. In June 2019, the most downloaded social
networking apps in the Apple App Store included mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and
Facebook Messenger, as well as the ever-popular app version of Facebook.