Introduction

More than 60% of the global population – over 5 billion people – actively uses social media, according to recent research.

Increasing Usage

That represents an increase of 3.7% over the past year, according to calculations by digital advisory firm Kepios in its latest quarterly report.

Social Network Users

Social network users are approaching 5.19 billion, or 64.5% of the world population.

Regional Differences

There are significant differences between regions. Only one person out of 11 in East and Central Africa uses social media. In India, now the world’s most populous nation, the figure is one out of three.

Time Spent on Social Media

The amount of time spent on social media has also increased by two minutes to 2 hours and 26 minutes per day. Again, there are large disparities, with Brazilians spending an average of 3 hours and 49 minutes daily on social media, while the Japanese spend less than an hour.

Number of Platforms Used

The average social media user is on seven platforms.

Popular Social Media Apps

Meta owns three of the most favorite apps: WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.

China has three apps, WeChat, TikTok and its local version Douyin.

Top Social Media Platforms

Twitter, Messenger and Telegram round out the top social media platforms.