--- source_url: "https://datareportal.com/social-media-users" title: Global Social Media Statistics — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights mirrored_at: 2026-08-06T15:40:52.125Z host: datareportal.com cited_in_42a: true mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/datareportal.com/social-media-users" --- > **Original source:** https://datareportal.com/social-media-users Detailed analysis by the team at [Manochi](https://manochi.co/?utm_source=Global_Digital_Reports&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=Digital_2026) shows that there were **5.79 billion** social media “user identities” around the world at the start of April 2026.  This impressive figure indicates that **more than 2 in 3** people on Earth now use social media each month, and means that social media users are now a “supermajority”, with users now outnumbering non-users by more than two to one. Social media user numbers continue to grow too, with **294 million** new user identities starting to use social media since this time last year. That equates to annualised growth of **5.4 percent**, at an average rate of **9.3** new users every single second. The latest figures indicate that **94.7 percent** of the world’s internet users regardless of age now use social media each month (learn more about people’s broader internet behaviours on our [Global Digital Overview](https://datareportal.com/global-digital-overview) page). However, note that figures for social media users may **_not_** represent unique individuals, and due to issues such as duplicate accounts, social media user figures may _exceed_ the figures that we publish for internet users – or even for the total population. This is why we refer to social media user “identities”. On the other hand, it’s also worth noting that comparing social media users with figures for total population may _under_\-represent the full extent of social media use, because most social media companies restrict use of their platforms to people aged 13 and above. And for additional context, the latest data suggest that the number of “adult” social media user identities around the world (i.e. those aged 18 and above) now equates to **94.5 percent** of the global adult population aged 18+. Meanwhile, data from [GWI](https://bit.ly/4ikTwYP) indicates that **96.7 percent** of internet users aged 16 and above in 54 of the world’s largest economies already use at least one social network or messaging platform each month. GWI’s data also reveals that the typical social media user actively uses or visits an average of **6.5** different social platforms each month, and spends an average of **18 hours and 36 minutes** using social media each week, which includes browsing social networks and watching online videos on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. On the [basis](https://sg.yougov.com/health/articles/48914-how-long-do-most-people-sleep-globally-and-which-regions-feel-most-sleep-deprived-2024) that most people sleep for between 7 and 8 hours per day, these latest figures suggest that the typical internet user spends more than **1 full waking day** each week using social media. And added together, the world spends over **15 billion hours** consuming content on social platforms each day, which is the equivalent of more than **1.75 million years** of human existence. ## The world’s biggest social media platforms Different data sources offer different perspectives on social media use, so there is currently no _definitive_ answer to the question, “_what’s the most used social media platform in the world?_” Each of these different perspectives is still valuable though, so let’s take a closer look at what the data tells us. ### _Self-declared social media platform use_ When it comes to the platforms that people _say_ they use, the latest research from [GWI](https://bit.ly/4ikTwYP) finds that **Facebook** is the world’s most widely used social media platform. In GWI’s Q4 2025 survey, **56.3 percent** of adult internet users aged 16 and above reported using Facebook within the past month, which puts the platform just **1 percentage point** ahead of its nearest rival. YouTube ranks second, with **55.3 percent** of GWI’s survey respondents saying that they used Google’s video platform within the past month, while Instagram ranks third, with **54.6 percent**. And Meta platforms claim the remaining places in the top 5 too, with **54.4 percent** of online adults saying they use WhatsApp each month, and **36.9 percent** saying they used Messenger at least once in the past 30 days. ### _Social media app use_ However, opt-in research that logs the apps that people actually _open_ on their smartphones offers different perspectives. For example, [App Intelligence](https://www.similarweb.com/corp/apps/?utm_medium=non_paid_partnership&utm_source=kepios&utm_campaign=brand_cross_2025-global-digital-reports_report_aug_25&utm_placement=article) data from [Similarweb](https://www.similarweb.com/?utm_medium=non_paid_partnership&utm_source=kepios&utm_campaign=brand_cross_2025-global-digital-reports_report_aug_25&utm_placement=article) suggests that **YouTube** has the greatest number of monthly active users today, giving the platform an index of 100 \[_note that the top platform in this particular ranking will always have an index of 100_\]. WhatsApp (87.4) and Instagram (80.5) rank second and third (respectively), with this data suggesting that Meta’s top messaging platform has a greater number of active app users than all of its social networks. Moreover, Similarweb’s figures indicate that YouTube’s audience is still meaningfully larger than the audiences of both these Meta platforms. Facebook ranks fourth, with the platform’s active app users equating to **75.7 percent** of YouTube’s active app user base. TikTok ranks fifth with an index score of **67.4**, and TikTok is the last platform in this Similarweb ranking that has an active user base that is at least half the size of YouTube’s. ### _Reported social media ad reach_ Meanwhile, [Manochi](https://manochi.co/?utm_source=Global_Digital_Reports&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=Digital_2026) analysis of data published in the advertising resources of the world’s top platforms reveals that YouTube has the largest social media advertising audience. The company’s latest data indicates that YouTube ads reach **2.65 billion** users each month, which is roughly almost **10 percent** greater than the **2.39 billion** figure that Meta reports for Facebook. Based on these figures published in the platforms’ own tools, TikTok ranks third, with reported reach of **2.21 billion**, while Instagram ranks fourth at a worldwide level, with **1.99 billion**. LinkedIn ranks fifth with a reported global ad reach figure of **1.43 billion**, but it’s important to highlight that this figure is based on the platform’s _total registered members_, and is not representative of the platform’s monthly active users. ## Social media audience overlaps These individual platform user numbers tell a compelling story about the rise of social media around the world, but – on their own – they don’t tell the whole story. Critically, the world’s connected population makes use of a variety of different social platforms each month, which means that there will be considerable overlaps between the user bases and advertising audiences of each of these platforms. The chart below shows the extent of these overlaps, with fresh data from [GWI](https://www.gwi.com/) providing valuable insights for anyone looking to build a social media ‘mix’ or digital marketing plan. The key takeaway from this great data is that marketers _don’t_ need to be on all platforms at the same time in order to reach the majority of their audiences. Indeed, if reach is your primary objective, you can focus on just one or two of the larger platforms, safe in the knowledge that you’ll already have the potential to reach the majority of social media users. ## Reasons for using social media Reach isn’t the only thing you should consider when building a marketing plan of course, but this data also allows us to think differently about how we construct a social media platform mix. For example, different people will use different platforms for different needs, and it’s well worth marketers exploring these needs to identify which platforms are best suited to individual campaign and activity objectives. The chart below offers some great insight into the reasons _why_ people use social media today, but remember that these motivations differ by country and by platform, so be sure to dig into our [local market data](https://datareportal.com/library) too. GWI’s data also allows us to explore these motivations by age group. Note that it’s particularly difficult to identify a representative sample of internet users over the age of 65 once we look beyond the world’s richer countries, which is why the dataset only includes people up to the age of 64. However, this data still provides rich insights into how people’s reasons for using social media differ by age. ## Favourite social media platforms It’s also worth noting that high user numbers don’t necessarily translate into preference. Once again, data from [GWI](https://www.gwi.com/) can help us make sense of which platforms people have the greatest affinity for, with the chart below showing overall social media platform preferences at a global level. As you might expect though, these preferences vary considerably by age and by gender. As you can see in the chart below, GWI’s research finds that younger people are more likely to say that Instagram is their “favourite” social media platform (at least in most Western markets), whereas older generations tend to prefer Facebook and WhatsApp. However, there are important differences in these preferences at a country level, and those local nuances are particularly important for marketers who are hoping to reach the right audience in the right place at just the right time. ## Activities by social media platform Research also reveals that people visit different social media platforms to achieve different things. GWI’s survey reveals that messaging friends and family is a particularly popular topic on Facebook, but that TikTok users aren’t really all that interested in this functionality. Instead, TikTok users primarily visit the platform to look for funny and entertaining videos. Meanwhile, users on Instagram and Snapchat are particularly interested in publishing their own content, but this activity is significantly less popular on TikTok, Reddit, and LinkedIn. And marketers may like to know that Pinterest users are particularly interested in following or researching brand-related content on the world’s most popular online pinboard. ## Social media behaviours by country Social media preferences and behaviours also vary meaningfully from one country to another, so it’s important to dig deeper into the data to understand what’s happening at a local level. If you’d like to know more about social media use in individual countries, including local social media platform rankings and audience profiles by age and gender, take a look at our [complete collection of local reports](https://datareportal.com/library). We also have dedicated pages exploring the latest statistics for a number of the world’s top social platforms, which you can explore via the links below: - Facebook statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-facebook-stats) - YouTube statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-youtube-stats) - Instagram statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-instagram-stats) - TikTok statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-tiktok-stats) - Facebook Messenger statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-facebook-messenger-stats) - LinkedIn statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-linkedin-stats) - Snapchat statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-snapchat-stats) - Twitter statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-twitter-stats) - Pinterest statistics and trends: [click here](https://datareportal.com/essential-pinterest-stats) And if you’d like to stay up to date with all the latest developments in social media use around the world, sign up for our newsletter using the form below to receive notifications whenever we publish new reports. 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