- Internet›
- Social Media & User-Generated Content›
Number of global social network users 2010-2021
Premium statistics
Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships).
A paid subscription is required for full access.
Number of global social network users 2010-2021
Number of social network users worldwide from 2010 to 2021 (in billions)
by J. Clement,
last edited
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 worldwideSocial 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.
Number of social network users worldwide from 2010 to 2021 (in billions)
| Number of users in billions | |
|---|---|
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| Number of users in billions | |
|---|---|
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
| - | - |
Exclusive Premium statistic
You need a Premium Account for unlimited access.
Full access to 1m statistics
Incl. source references
Available to download in PNG, PDF, XLS format
Premium Account
only $49 / month
*
Exclusive content
Exclusive Premium statistic
You need a Premium Account for unlimited access.
Full access to 1m statistics
Incl. source references
Available to download in PNG, PDF, XLS format
Premium Account
only $49 / month
*
© Statista 2019
About this statistic
Show source
Download
Settings
Share
Chart type
Datalabels
Share on Social Media
Download started
Please be patient - this may take a moment
Please be patient - this may take a moment
Description
Source
More information
by J. Clement,
last edited
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 worldwideSocial 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.
- Show sources information
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- May 2018
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2010 to 2017
- Supplementary notes
-
*Forecast
Internet users who use a social network site via any device at least once per month.
Figures regarding 2010 to 2015 were taken from previous source news release.
Source
- Show sources information
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- May 2018
More information
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 2010 to 2017
- Supplementary notes
-
*Forecast
Internet users who use a social network site via any device at least once per month.
Figures regarding 2010 to 2015 were taken from previous source news release.
Other statistics on the topic
Social Networks in China
Social Media & User-Generated Content
Instagram accounts with the most followers worldwide 2019
Social Media & User-Generated Content
Facebook: number of monthly active users worldwide 2008-2019
Social Media & User-Generated Content
Global social networks ranked by number of users 2019
Social Media & User-Generated Content
Number of monthly active Instagram users 2013-2018
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $588 / Year
Basic Account
Get to know the platform
You only have access to basic statistics.
This statistic is not included in your account!
Premium Account
Your perfect start with Statista
- Instant access to 1m statistics
- Download in XLS, PDF & PNG format
- Detailed references
$49 / Month *
Corporate Account
Full access
Corporate solution including all features.
* All products require an annual contract.
Prices do not include sales tax.
Prices do not include sales tax.
Leading companies trust Statista:
Related Studies: Available to Download in PDF or PPTX Format
All Information
in one Presentation
Social networks in China
- 52 page/s
- English
- pptx
- Detailed references
Everything On "Social networks in China" in One Document: Edited and Divided into Handy Chapters. Including Detailed References.
Other Reports & Dossiers
Statista has been my savior on several occasions. The site is easy to maneuver and the data is in a format that can go right into a report or presentation.Marlene Greenfield
Vice President, Hearst Magazines
Statistics on "Social media usage worldwide"
- Overview
The most important statistics
- Global digital population as of July 2019 (in millions)Worldwide digital population as of July 2019
- Number of social network users worldwide from 2010 to 2021 (in billions)Number of global social network users 2010-2021
- Social network penetration worldwide from 2014 to 2021Global social network penetration 2014-2021
- Number of social network users in selected countries in 2018 and 2023 (in millions)Social network users in selected countries in 2018 and 2023
- Global social network penetration rate as of January 2019, by regionSocial media: global penetration rate 2019, by region
- Number of monthly active social networking users worldwide as of January 2019, by region (in millions)Number of worldwide social media users 2019, by region
- Active social network penetration in selected countries as of January 2019Social media: active usage penetration in selected countries 2019
- Active social media penetration in selected European countries in January 2019Active social media penetration in European countries 2019
- Leading social media
The most important statistics
- Most popular social networks worldwide as of July 2019, ranked by number of active users (in millions)Global social networks ranked by number of users 2019
- Global active usage penetration of leading social networks as of February 2019Most popular social networks worldwide 2019, by reach
- Leading social networking apps in the Apple App Store worldwide in June 2019, by number of downloads (in millions)Leading iPhone social networking apps worldwide 2019, by downloads
- Leading social networking apps in the Apple App Store worldwide in June 2019, by revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Leading iPhone social networking apps worldwide 2019, by revenue
- Leading communication apps in the Google Play Store worldwide in June 2019, by number of downloads (in millions)Leading Android communication apps worldwide 2019, by downloads
- Leading communication apps in the Google Play Store worldwide in June 2019, by revenue (in U.S. dollars)Leading Android communication apps worldwide 2019, by revenue
- Number of monthly active Instagram users from January 2013 to June 2018 (in millions)Number of monthly active Instagram users 2013-2018
- Number of daily active Instagram Stories users from October 2016 to January 2019 (in millions)Daily active users of Instagram Stories 2019
- Usage
The most important statistics
- Media usage in an internet minute as of March 2019Media usage in an online minute 2019
- Average time per day spent by online users on social media worldwide in 2019, by region (in hours.minutes)Social media: global daily usage 2019, by region
- Average time per day spent by online users on social media in 2018, by country (in hours.minutes)Social media: daily usage in selected countries 2018
- Share of global internet users who have performed selected online activities in the past month via mobile as of 1st quarter 2019Leading mobile-first online activities worldwide 2019
- Share of internet users in selected countries who accessed social media via mobile in the last month as of 1st quarter 2019Mobile social network penetration in selected markets 2019
- Share of internet users worldwide who access selected social networks at least once per day as of 4th quarter 2018Global daily access rate of selected social networks 2018
- Daily time spent on social networking by internet users worldwide from 2012 to 2018 (in minutes)Daily social media usage worldwide 2012-2018
- Average number of social media accounts per internet user from 2013 to 2018Global social media account ownership from 2013 to 2018
- Influence
The most important statistics
- Internet users who agree that temporarily cutting off social media is acceptable during a time of crisis to stop the spread of false information as of June 2019, by countryAdults in favor of closing social media temporarily during crises 2019, by country
- Internet users who support a temporary social media ban to stop the spread of fake news during a massive terrorist attack as of June 2019, by countryAdults in favor of a temporary social media ban during massive terrorist attack 2019
- Internet users who trust the government to decide when and if it is appropriate to show down social media in times of crisis as of June 2019, by countryAdults who trust the government to shut down social media in crises 2019, by country
- Internet users who trust social media companies to ensure factuality of shared content during times of crisis as of June 2019, by countryTrust in social media companies to ensure factual content in crises 2019, by country
- Internet users who do not support temporary social media shutdowns during times of crisis because they are the primary source of news and information for many people as of June 2019, by countryAdults who oppose social media shutdowns during crises 2019, by country
- Internet users who agree that people can separate fact from fiction and would not support a social media ban to stop the flow of fake news during a crisis as of June 2019, by countryAdults opposed to social media bans and agree that people can identify fake news 2019
- Internet users who agree that there are many ways around social media bans so they will never be effective as of June 2019, by countryAdults who question the effectiveness of social media bans 2019, by country
- Share of internet users worldwide who believe that social media platforms have had an impact on selected aspects of daily life as of February 2019Global impact of social media on daily life 2019
The most important statistics
- Leading countries based on number of Facebook users as of July 2019 (in millions)Countries with the most Facebook users 2019
- Countries with the highest Facebook audience reach as of July 2019Countries with biggest Facebook reach 2019
- Number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide as of 2nd quarter 2019 (in millions)Facebook: number of monthly active users worldwide 2008-2019
- Number of daily active Facebook users worldwide as of 2nd quarter 2019 (in millions)Facebook: number of daily active users worldwide 2011-2019
- Device usage of Facebook users worldwide as of January 2019Facebook access penetration 2019, by device
- Most popular Facebook fan pages as of September 2019, based on number of fans (in millions)Most popular Facebook fan pages 2019
- Distribution of top 100 stories on Facebook worldwide as of March 2019, by genreShare of top 100 stories on Facebook worldwide 2019, by genre
The most important statistics
- Leading countries based on number of Twitter users as of July 2019 (in millions)Countries with the most Twitter users 2019
- Number of monetizable daily active international Twitter users (mDAU) from 1st quarter 2017 to 2nd quarter 2019 (in millions)Twitter: number of monetizable daily active international users 2017-2019
- Twitter accounts with the most followers worldwide as of September 2019 (in millions)Twitter accounts with the most followers worldwide 2019
- Most popular Twitter accounts worldwide as of February 2019, by number of interactions (in millions)Leading Twitter accounts worldwide 2019, by number of interactions
- Most popular tweets on Twitter as of June 2019, by number of retweets (in millions)Twitter: most popular tweets as of June 2019
- Most pictured brands on Twitter worldwide between September 2018 to February 2019Most visible brands on Twitter worldwide 2018
- Distribution of Twitter mentions of leading brands as of March 2019, by typeGlobal Twitter mentions of leading brands 2019, by type
The most important statistics
- Number of active Instagram business profiles from September 2016 to November 2017 (in millions)Number of Instagram business profiles 2016-2017
- Number of daily active Instagram Stories users from October 2016 to January 2019 (in millions)Daily active users of Instagram Stories 2019
- Fastest-growing English-language influencers on Instagram as of September 2019, based on follower growth in the past 4 weeksFastest-growing English-language influencers on Instagram 2019
- Instagram accounts with the most followers worldwide as of September 2019 (in millions)Instagram accounts with the most followers worldwide 2019
- Most popular cities worldwide on Instagram as of December 2017, by hashtags (in millions)Most hashtagged cities on Instagram worldwide 2017
- Most-followed beauty and fashion influencers on Instagram worldwide as of October 2019Most popular beauty and fashion influencers on Instagram worldwide 2019
- Most-followed food influencers on Instagram worldwide as of September 2019Most popular food influencers on Instagram worldwide 2019
- Most-followed travel influencers on Instagram worldwide as of March 2019Most popular travel influencers on Instagram worldwide 2019
- Social media marketing and advertising
The most important statistics
- Leading social media platforms used by marketers worldwide as of January 2019Social media platforms used by marketers worldwide 2019
- Leading benefits of using social media for marketing purposes worldwide as of January 2019Benefits of social media marketing worldwide 2019
- Social media advertising clickthrough rate (CTR) worldwide from 2nd quarter 2018 to 2nd quarter 2019Social media ads CTR worldwide Q2 2018 - Q2 2019
- Social media advertising cost-per-mille (CPM) worldwide from 2nd quarter 2018 to 2nd quarter 2019 (in U.S. dollars)Social media ads CPM worldwide Q2 2018 - Q2 2019
- Frequency of online consumers who have made a purchase based on online or social media advertisements as of January 2019Online or social media advertising targeting effectiveness as of January 2019
- Leading industries of U.S. brands on social media in 2018, by share of voiceEngagement share of voice of U.S. brands 2018, by industry
- Leading brands in Instagram influencer marketing worldwide in 2018, by earned media value (in million U.S. dollars)Leading brands in Instagram influencer marketing worldwide in 2018, by earned media
- Planned changes in future use of selected social media for marketing purposes worldwide as of January 2019Future use of social media among marketers worldwide by platform 2019
- Data requests
The most important statistics
- Number of user data requests issued to Google from federal agencies and governments during 2nd half 2018, by country Google user data requests from federal agencies and governments H2 2018, by country
- Number of government and court requests for content removal from Google from January to June 2018, by countryGovernment requests for content removal from Google H1 2018
- Number of user data requests issued to Google from U.S. federal agencies and courts as of 2nd half 2018Google user data requests by U.S. federal authorities 2010-2018
- Number of user data requests issued to Facebook from federal agencies and governments during 2nd half 2018, by country Facebook: user data requests from federal agencies & governments H2 2018, by country
- Number of user data requests issued to Facebook from U.S. federal agencies and courts as of 2nd half 2018Facebook user data requests by U.S. federal authorities 2013-2018
- Global number of user data requests issued to Twitter from federal agencies and governments during 2nd half 2018, by country Twitter: user data requests from federal agencies and governments H2 2018
- Number of data removal requests issued to Twitter from 1st half 2012 to 2nd half 2018Twitter: total number of data removal requests as of H2 2018
- Number of data removal requests issued to Twitter from July to December 2018, by country and institutionTwitter: data removal requests from countries and institutions H2 2018
Discover Statista
Need help with using Statista for your research?
Tutorials and first steps
Further Content: Statistics, Studies, and Topic Pages
Statistics
- Nigeria number of social network users 2017-2023
- Norway: social media penetration as of November 2013
- Worldwide social network user growth 2014-2020
- Argentina: number of social network users 2017-2023
- South Africa number of social network users 2017-2023
- Number of U.S. Hispanic social network users 2013-2019
- South Korea: number of social network users 2015-2022
- Middle East and Africa: number of social network users in the 2012-2018
- Philippines: number of social network users 2017-2023
- Social network user growth in the United Kingdom (UK) 2012-2017
- Germany: number of social network users 2014-2020
- Number of social network users Australia 2015-2022
- Russia: number of social network users 2013-2019
- Social network user growth in the United Kingdom (UK) 2012-2017, by age
- North America: number of social network users 2017-2023
- Global satisfaction index with the tourist destinations of Spain coast summer 2015
- Renren net revenue in China 2008-2018
- Social network: message recipients in Spain 2014
- Customer contact centers handling of social network-based inquiries 2011
- El Salvador: non-users of social media platforms 2017-2018
Studies
- Mobile social media usage worldwide
- Mobile social media usage in the United States
- Social media usage worldwide
- Social media usage in the Nordics
- Social media in the Netherlands
- Social media usage in the Caribbean
- Social media in Belgium
- Social media usage in South Korea
- Social media usage in Latin America
- Social media in Singapore
- Social media influencers in France
- Brands on social media
- Social media usage in Poland
- Social media marketing
- Social media and events
Statistics on "Social media usage worldwide"
- Worldwide digital population as of July 2019
- Number of global social network users 2010-2021
- Global social network penetration 2014-2021
- Social network users in selected countries in 2018 and 2023
- Social media: global penetration rate 2019, by region
- Number of worldwide social media users 2019, by region
- Social media: active usage penetration in selected countries 2019
- Active social media penetration in European countries 2019
- Global mobile social penetration rate 2019, by region
- Active mobile social media penetration in the Americas 2019
- Active mobile social media penetration in selected Asia-Pacific countries 2019
- Net worth of the richest social media entrepreneurs 2019
- Global social networks ranked by number of users 2019
- Most popular social networks worldwide 2019, by reach
- Leading iPhone social networking apps worldwide 2019, by downloads
- Leading iPhone social networking apps worldwide 2019, by revenue
- Leading Android communication apps worldwide 2019, by downloads
- Leading Android communication apps worldwide 2019, by revenue
- Number of monthly active Instagram users 2013-2018
- Daily active users of Instagram Stories 2019
- Number of monthly active WhatsApp users as of 2013-2017
- Daily active users of WhatsApp Status 2019
- Number of active WeChat messenger accounts Q2 2012-Q2 2019
- Daily active users of Snapchat 2014-2019
- Media usage in an online minute 2019
- Social media: global daily usage 2019, by region
- Social media: daily usage in selected countries 2018
- Leading mobile-first online activities worldwide 2019
- Mobile social network penetration in selected markets 2019
- Global daily access rate of selected social networks 2018
- Daily social media usage worldwide 2012-2018
- Global social media account ownership from 2013 to 2018
- Leading social media usage reasons worldwide 2018
- Social media as a news source worldwide 2019
- Online protection strategies of global internet users 2019
- Global consumer willingness to pay social media providers for data protection 2018
- Adults in favor of closing social media temporarily during crises 2019, by country
- Adults in favor of a temporary social media ban during massive terrorist attack 2019
- Adults who trust the government to shut down social media in crises 2019, by country
- Trust in social media companies to ensure factual content in crises 2019, by country
- Adults who oppose social media shutdowns during crises 2019, by country
- Adults opposed to social media bans and agree that people can identify fake news 2019
- Adults who question the effectiveness of social media bans 2019, by country
- Global impact of social media on daily life 2019
- Global influence of social media on polarization in politics 2019, by country
- Global influence of social media on accountability in government 2019, by country
- Countries with the most Facebook users 2019
- Countries with biggest Facebook reach 2019
- Facebook: number of monthly active users worldwide 2008-2019
- Facebook: number of daily active users worldwide 2011-2019
- Facebook access penetration 2019, by device
- Most popular Facebook fan pages 2019
- Share of top 100 stories on Facebook worldwide 2019, by genre
- Countries with the most Twitter users 2019
- Twitter: number of monetizable daily active international users 2017-2019
- Twitter accounts with the most followers worldwide 2019
- Leading Twitter accounts worldwide 2019, by number of interactions
- Twitter: most popular tweets as of June 2019
- Most visible brands on Twitter worldwide 2018
- Global Twitter mentions of leading brands 2019, by type
- Number of Instagram business profiles 2016-2017
- Fastest-growing English-language influencers on Instagram 2019
- Instagram accounts with the most followers worldwide 2019
- Most hashtagged cities on Instagram worldwide 2017
- Most popular beauty and fashion influencers on Instagram worldwide 2019
- Most popular food influencers on Instagram worldwide 2019
- Most popular travel influencers on Instagram worldwide 2019
- Most popular wildlife photographers on Instagram worldwide 2019
- Most popular brands on Instagram 2017, by followers
- Instagram: number of brand sponsored influencer posts 2016-2020
- Share of reported brand posts on Instagram 2017
- Social media platforms used by marketers worldwide 2019
- Benefits of social media marketing worldwide 2019
- Social media ads CTR worldwide Q2 2018 - Q2 2019
- Social media ads CPM worldwide Q2 2018 - Q2 2019
- Online or social media advertising targeting effectiveness as of January 2019
- Engagement share of voice of U.S. brands 2018, by industry
- Leading brands in Instagram influencer marketing worldwide in 2018, by earned media
- Future use of social media among marketers worldwide by platform 2019
- Google user data requests from federal agencies and governments H2 2018, by country
- Government requests for content removal from Google H1 2018
- Google user data requests by U.S. federal authorities 2010-2018
- Facebook: user data requests from federal agencies & governments H2 2018, by country
- Facebook user data requests by U.S. federal authorities 2013-2018
- Twitter: user data requests from federal agencies and governments H2 2018
- Twitter: total number of data removal requests as of H2 2018
- Twitter: data removal requests from countries and institutions H2 2018
- Snapchat user data requests by U.S. federal authorities 2014-2018
- Nigeria number of social network users 2017-2023
- Norway: social media penetration as of November 2013
- Worldwide social network user growth 2014-2020
- Argentina: number of social network users 2017-2023
- South Africa number of social network users 2017-2023
- Number of U.S. Hispanic social network users 2013-2019
- South Korea: number of social network users 2015-2022
- Middle East and Africa: number of social network users in the 2012-2018
- Philippines: number of social network users 2017-2023
- Social network user growth in the United Kingdom (UK) 2012-2017
- Germany: number of social network users 2014-2020
- Number of social network users Australia 2015-2022
- Russia: number of social network users 2013-2019
- Social network user growth in the United Kingdom (UK) 2012-2017, by age
- North America: number of social network users 2017-2023
- Global satisfaction index with the tourist destinations of Spain coast summer 2015
- Renren net revenue in China 2008-2018
- Social network: message recipients in Spain 2014
- Customer contact centers handling of social network-based inquiries 2011
- El Salvador: non-users of social media platforms 2017-2018
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $588 / Year
Related topics
About Statista
Statista offers dossiers and reports on over 170 industries. With Statista you are always able to make informed decisions and boost your work efficiency.
Internet & Telecommunications
- Social Media
- E-Commerce
- Online Video & Entertainment
- Advertising & Marketing
Consumer Goods & FMCG
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Cleaning Products
- Cosmetics & Personal Care
- Food & Nutrition
Retail & Trade
- Health & Hygiene
- International Trade
- Shopping Behavior
- Sports & Leisure
Travel, Tourism & Hospitality
- Business Travel
- Leisure Travel
- Accomodation
- Restaurants
Society
- Demographics
- Economy
- Education & Science
- Politics & Government
Transportation & Logistics
- Aviation
- Rail Transport
- Vehicles & Road Traffic
- Water Transport
Save statistic in .XLS format
You can only download this statistic as a Premium user.
Save statistic in .PNG format
You can only download this statistic as a Premium user.
Save statistic in .PDF format
You can only download this statistic as a Premium user.
Show source references
As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.
Show details about this statistic
As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic.
Bookmark statistics
As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail.
Change statistics options
You need at least a Premium Account to use this feature.
Exclusive Corporate feature
This feature is limited to our corporate solutions.
Please contact us to get started with full access to dossiers, forecasts, studies and international data.
Corporate Account
We use cookies to personalize contents and ads, offer social media features, and analyze access to our website. In your browser settings you can configure or disable this, respectively, and can delete any already placed cookies. For details, please see your browser’s Help section (by pressing F1). Please see our privacy statement for details about how we use data.