Global Social Media Usage Statistics
A comprehensive, sourced collection of worldwide social media data — total users, platform rankings, regional penetration rates, demographics, time spent, and growth trends.
5.24B
Social media users worldwide in 2025
Source: DataReportal 2025
Last updated: 2026-02-01
Global Social Media Overview
More than two in three people on Earth now use social media each month, with users outnumbering non-users by two to one.
5.24B
People actively using social media worldwide — 63.9% of the global population.
Source: DataReportal 2025
6.04B
Internet users worldwide as of October 2025 — 73.2% of the world population.
Source: DataReportal 2026
259M
New social media user identities added in the past 12 months — 7.8 new users every second.
Source: DataReportal 2025
6.83
Average number of social media platforms used per person each month.
Source: DataReportal 2025
2h 21m
Average daily time spent on social media globally.
Source: DataReportal 2025
96%
Internet users who access social media via mobile at least some of the time.
Source: DataReportal 2025
Global Social Media Users Over Time (Billions)
Social media users have grown by 79% since 2017, rising from 2.73 billion to over 5.24 billion.
Top Social Media Platforms by Users
Facebook remains the world's largest platform. Meta owns four of the top seven platforms, each with over one billion monthly active users.
3.07B
Facebook monthly active users — the world's largest social platform.
Source: Statista 2025
2.85B
YouTube monthly active users — the dominant video platform.
Source: Blog2Social 2026
2.20B
Instagram monthly active users — grew 13% year-over-year in 2025.
Source: Blog2Social 2026
1.70B
TikTok monthly active users — audience grew 17% in 2025.
Source: Blog2Social 2026
1.34B
WeChat monthly active users — dominant in China.
Source: Blog2Social 2026
1B+
Telegram monthly active users — one of the fastest-growing messaging platforms.
Source: Blog2Social 2026
Monthly Active Users by Platform (Millions)
More Platform Statistics
946M
Snapchat monthly active users — up 6% year-over-year.
Source: DemandSage 2026
561M
X (Twitter) estimated monthly active users as of mid-2025.
Source: Backlinko 2026
537M
Pinterest monthly active users globally.
Source: DemandSage 2026
1B+
Reddit monthly active users worldwide.
Source: DemandSage 2026
1.2B
LinkedIn registered members — 310M monthly active users.
Source: DemandSage 2025
2.4B
WhatsApp monthly active users — dominant in Europe and Latin America.
Source: Blog2Social 2026
4 of top 7
Meta owns four of the seven largest social platforms — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — each with 1B+ MAU.
No other company comes close to Meta's dominance across the social media landscape. Combined, Meta's platforms reach over 8 billion monthly user identities.
Source: Blog2Social 2026
Social Media Penetration by Region
Northern Europe leads global social media adoption at nearly 82%, while parts of Africa remain below 10%.
81.7%
Northern Europe — highest social media penetration rate globally.
Source: Statista 2025
~60%
Asia's share of global social media users — the largest regional audience.
Source: DataReportal 2025
12%
Europe's share of global social media users — the second-largest regional market.
Source: DataReportal 2025
11.5%
Africa's share of global social media users — rapidly growing through mobile adoption.
Source: DataReportal 2025
9.6%
Middle Africa social media penetration — the lowest in the world.
Source: Statista 2025
68.7%
Global social media penetration rate.
Source: Statista 2025
Social Media Penetration by Region (%)
Top Countries by Social Media Users
1.1B
China — the world's largest social media market (74.7% penetration).
Source: Priori Data 2025
755M
India — the second-largest social media audience globally.
Source: Priori Data 2025
239M
United States — 69.2% social media penetration.
Source: Priori Data 2025
167M
Indonesia — one of the most engaged social media markets in Asia.
Source: World Population Review 2026
150M
Brazil — 66.3% penetration, among the highest time-spent globally.
Source: World Population Review 2026
2.21B
People worldwide who do not yet use the internet as of October 2025.
Source: DataReportal 2025
Social Media Platforms Comparison
Key metrics across the world's largest social media platforms.
| Metric | Platform | MAU | YoY Growth | Primary Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.07B | ~3% | Social networking | ||
| YouTube | YouTube | 2.85B | ~5% | Video content |
| 2.20B | 13% | Photo/video sharing | ||
| TikTok | TikTok | 1.70B | 17% | Short-form video |
| 1.34B | ~2% | Messaging + super app | ||
| Telegram | Telegram | 1B+ | ~12% | Messaging + channels |
| Snapchat | Snapchat | 946M | 6% | Ephemeral content |
| X/Twitter | X/Twitter | 561M | ~2% | Real-time news/discussion |
| 537M | ~7% | Visual discovery | ||
| 310M | 14% | Professional networking |
Daily Time Spent on Social Media
Time spent on social media varies widely by country, with African and Southeast Asian nations spending the most.
2h 21m
Global average daily time on social media in 2025.
Source: DataReportal 2025
4h 13m
Kenya — highest daily social media usage of any country surveyed.
Source: BroadbandSearch 2025
3h 49m
Brazil — among the highest daily social media usage globally.
Source: BroadbandSearch 2025
3h 14m
Indonesia — one of the most engaged social media markets in Asia.
Source: Electroiq 2025
2h 16m
United States average daily social media usage.
Source: BroadbandSearch 2025
141m
Global average daily social media usage in minutes — down from 143 minutes in 2024.
Source: Statista 2025
Average Daily Social Media Usage by Country (Minutes)
Social Media Demographics
Gen Z and Millennials dominate social media, but usage patterns vary significantly by generation and gender.
94%
Gen Z using at least one social media platform daily in 2025.
Source: SociallyIn 2026
2h 55m
Average daily social media time for Gen Z users.
Source: SociallyIn 2026
69.2%
Millennials estimated to be using social media in 2025 — the most active demographic.
Source: PartnerCentric 2025
87%
Millennials using Facebook at least once a week.
Source: PartnerCentric 2025
41%
Gen Z who turn to social media first for information — ahead of search engines at 32%.
Source: Sprout Social 2025
44%
Millennials now using TikTok — bridging past and future social media trends.
Source: PartnerCentric 2025
Social Media Users by Generation
Millennials and Gen Z together account for the majority of social media activity worldwide.
Mobile Social Media Usage
Mobile devices dominate social media consumption, accounting for over 90% of all usage time.
91%
Social media users who access platforms via mobile devices.
Source: DataReportal 2025
80%
Time on social media spent via mobile devices (smartphones and tablets).
Source: SQ Magazine 2025
63.3%
Global web traffic from mobile devices as of mid-2025.
Source: Research.com 2026
2h 29m
Average daily social media time on mobile — vs just 12 minutes on desktop.
Source: SQ Magazine 2025
82.9%
Social media ad spend projected to be generated through mobile by 2030.
Source: Statista 2025
805K
New internet users coming online every single day, mostly via mobile.
Source: DataReportal 2025
Social Media Advertising Market
Social media ad spend continues to grow rapidly, projected to reach nearly $480 billion by 2030.
$276B
Worldwide social media advertising spend projected for 2025.
Source: Statista 2025
$480B
Projected social media ad market by 2030 (CAGR 11.7%).
Source: Statista 2025
$103B
US social media ad spending in 2025 — the largest national market.
Source: Statista 2025
$1.14T
Total global advertising revenue in 2025, up 8.8% year-over-year.
Source: WPP Media 2025
10.9%
Expected annual social media ad spend growth rate from 2026 to 2030.
Source: Statista 2025
Year-over-Year Social Media User Growth (%)
Growth is decelerating as the market matures, but still adds hundreds of millions of new users annually.
Social Media Growth Milestones
Facebook launches from a Harvard dorm room.
YouTube launches, enabling user-generated video at scale.
Instagram launches, photo-sharing goes mainstream.
~1B social media users
Facebook hits 1 billion MAU — the first social platform to do so.
1B Facebook MAU
TikTok (Douyin) launches in China, global expansion begins.
2.3B social media users
COVID-19 pandemic accelerates global social media adoption.
3.96B social media users
Social media users surpass 4.8 billion worldwide.
4.89B social media users
Social media reaches 5.24 billion users — nearly two-thirds of humanity.
5.24B users (64% of world)
Internet users pass 6 billion; two in three people use social media.
6B+ internet users
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources
- DataReportal — Global Social Media Statistics
- DataReportal — Digital 2026: Internet Users Pass 6 Billion
- DataReportal — Digital 2026: 2 in 3 People Use Social Media
- DataReportal — Global Digital Overview
- DataReportal — Digital 2025: State of Social
- Statista — Biggest Social Media Platforms by Users 2025
- Statista — Social Media Penetration by Region 2025
- Statista — Global Daily Social Media Usage 2025
- Statista — Social Media Advertising Market
- Blog2Social — Social Media Users 2026
- Backlinko — Social Media Users
- Backlinko — X/Twitter Users
- DemandSage — Social Media Users
- DemandSage — Snapchat Users Statistics
- DemandSage — Pinterest Statistics
- DemandSage — Reddit Statistics
- DemandSage — LinkedIn Statistics
- Priori Data — Social Media Usage 2025
- BroadbandSearch — Average Daily Time on Social Media
- Electroiq — Average Time Spent on Social Media
- World Population Review — Social Media Users by Country
- SQ Magazine — Social Media Screen Time Statistics 2025
- Research.com — Mobile vs Desktop Usage Statistics 2026
- SociallyIn — Gen Z Social Media Usage Statistics 2026
- PartnerCentric — Social Media Use Trends by Generation
- Sprout Social — Social Media Statistics 2026
- WPP Media — Global Ad Spend 2025
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