Facebook user growth rate was estimated at *** percent in 2020. This was the highest growth measured over the evaluated period. With the coronavirus outbreak at the first half of 2020, internet users resorted to social media to stay connected. Facebook was created in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg and has seen unprecedented popularity becoming a leader among social networks.

With roughly three billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2023, Facebook is the most used online social network worldwide. The platform surpassed two billion active users in the second quarter of 2017, taking just over 13 years to reach this milestone. In comparison, Meta-owned Instagram took 11.2 years, and Google’s YouTube took just over 14 years to achieve this landmark. As of January 2022, Facebook’s leading audience base was in India, with almost 330 million users whilst the United States ranked second with an approximate total of 179 million users. The platform also finds remarkable popularity in Indonesia and Brazil. Social Media usage in the United States In January 2021, Facebook was the platform on which users in the United States spent the most time per day. The average time spent on Facebook was 33 minutes, followed by TikTok with 32 minutes and Twitter with 31 daily minutes. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, all major social media platforms saw an increase in daily usage, which then either plateaued or decreased in 2021. At the end of 2021, over a quarter of all Facebook users in the United States belonged to the 25 to 34 year age group and 18.2 percent of users were in the 35 to 44 year age group. In general, Facebook users were more likely to be female. Meta Platforms Meta is Facebook’s recently renamed parent company and had a grand total of 3.59 billion core product users by the final quarter of 2021. Other Meta products include Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus – Meta’s virtual reality subsidiary which produces VR headsets. In 2021, Meta's revenue amounted to 117 billion US dollars, up from around 86 billion U.S. dollars in the previous financial year.

Facebook probably needs no introduction; nonetheless, here is a quick history of the company. The world’s biggest and most-famous social network was launched by Mark Zuckerberg while he was a...

As of April 2024, it was found that men between the ages of 25 and 34 years made up Facebook largest audience, accounting for 18.4 percent of global users. Additionally, Facebook's second largest audience base could be found with men aged 18 to 24 years. Facebook connects the world Founded in 2004 and going public in 2012, Facebook is one of the biggest internet companies in the world with influence that goes beyond social media. It is widely considered as one of the Big Four tech companies, along with Google, Apple, and Amazon (all together known under the acronym GAFA). Facebook is the most popular social network worldwide and the company also owns three other billion-user properties: mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, as well as photo-sharing app Instagram. Facebook usersThe vast majority of Facebook users connect to the social network via mobile devices. This is unsurprising, as Facebook has many users in mobile-first online markets. Currently, India ranks first in terms of Facebook audience size with 378 million users. The United States, Brazil, and Indonesia also all have more than 100 million Facebook users each.

Meta Platforms had ****** full-time employees as of December 2024, down from ****** people in 2023. As of December 2023, more than ******* employees at tech companies worldwide were laid off throughout the year across more than 1,000 companies. Facebook: how it all beganIn 2003, a sophomore at named Mark Zuckerberg hacked into protected areas of the university's computer network in order to find photos of other students. He then would pair two of them next to each other on a program called “Facemash” and ask users to choose the more attractive person. At the beginning of 2004, Zuckerberg launched “The Facebook,” a social network dedicated to Harvard students, which later grew to encompass Columbia, Yale and Stanford. The popularity of this new service sky-rocketed and in mid-2004, Zuckerberg interrupted his studies and moved his operation to Palo Alto, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. By 2006, Facebook was open to the general public. In 2020, the company reported almost ** billion U.S. dollars in revenue and a net income of ***** billion US dollars. It is also the most popular social network in the world, with *** billion monthly active users as of December 2020. Facebook employee diversity criticismLike many other tech companies, Facebook has been criticized for having a diversity problem. As of June 2020, tech positions, as well as management roles in U.S. offices were overwhelmingly occupied by men. Furthermore, almost ** percent of Facebook employees in the U.S. are White and only *** percent are African-American, which has sparked concern regarding representation and equal opportunities. Around **** percent of senior level positions are occupied by White employees and only *** percent by Hispanic-Americans.

Japan FB: SA: Exp: National Hospitals: Hospitals data was reported at 568.857 JPY bn in 2004. This records a decrease from the previous number of 587.416 JPY bn for 2003. Japan FB: SA: Exp: National Hospitals: Hospitals data is updated yearly, averaging 619.386 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2004, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 656.186 JPY bn in 1999 and a record low of 568.857 JPY bn in 2004. Japan FB: SA: Exp: National Hospitals: Hospitals data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F025: Government Budget: Final: Special Account: Expenditure.

Females and males aged 25 to 34 constituted the largest share of active Facebook users in Australia as of October 2024. Both females and males in that age bracket made up approximately **** percent. Facebook: the world’s favorite online hangout Facebook continues to rank as the world’s most popular social network. With just over ***** billion users in a worldwide population of around eight billion people, Facebook has left its mark on the modern world - and its wallet. In 2021, Facebook’s owner Meta, formerly Facebook Inc, generated over *** billion dollars in revenue, a figure which has continued to soar since Facebook’s inception in 2004. Advertising and Meta’s family of apps, which among others includes Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, have made up the majority of the company’s revenue in recent years. The internet as a source of hope  ‘Screen time’, or time spent using a device such as a phone, computer, television, or video game console, often gets a bad name. The average Australian spends close to ***** hours daily surfing the internet on a mobile phone, which puts Australians above the world average for minutes spent on the internet on a mobile daily. With young people making up a significant portion of the internet-using population, it is reassuring to know that close to ** percent of young Australians also use the internet to seek help or information on issues important to them, like the environment, equity and discrimination, and mental health.

Japan FB: GA: Revenue: Govt Affiliated Agencies: Printing Bureau data was reported at 0.000 JPY bn in 2004. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.587 JPY bn for 2003. Japan FB: GA: Revenue: Govt Affiliated Agencies: Printing Bureau data is updated yearly, averaging 3.587 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2004, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.376 JPY bn in 1998 and a record low of 0.000 JPY bn in 2004. Japan FB: GA: Revenue: Govt Affiliated Agencies: Printing Bureau data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F021: Government Budget: Final: General Account: Revenue.

FB: SA: Revenue: PE: Limestone Account data was reported at 2,274.105 JPY bn in 2008. This records an increase from the previous number of 63.221 JPY bn for 2007. FB: SA: Revenue: PE: Limestone Account data is updated yearly, averaging 606.063 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,274.105 JPY bn in 2008 and a record low of 42.403 JPY bn in 2004. FB: SA: Revenue: PE: Limestone Account data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F024: Government Budget: Final: Special Account: Revenue.

The statistic shows the share of Facebook's mobile advertising revenue from 2012 to 2018. In 2018, 92 percent of the social network's advertising revenues were generated via mobile, up from 88 percent in the previous year. This translates to over 50 billion U.S. dollars in annual mobile ad revenues. Facebook's mobile advertising revenue – additional information Founded in 2004 by then-Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is the largest social network in the world with more than two billion active users. In 2018, the social network amounted 55.8 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. From this total, about 55 billion U.S. dollars were generated from advertising, as the social network’s business model heavily relies on this revenue stream. Facebook generated, per user, an average of 24.96 U.S. dollars in advertising revenue in 2018, a figure considerably higher than the ones from the previous years. For instance, in 2012, Facebook's annualized revenue per user stood at 5.32 U.S. dollars. The U.S. and Canada are two of the most important markets for the social network, as Facebook’s average revenue per user in these countries stood above the global average in 2018.

In terms of advertising platforms, the shift from desktop advertising to mobile advertising is no longer a promise; it is a reality for Facebook. Mobile advertising has aggressively increased its share of Facebook’s total advertising revenue in the last few years, going from 11 percent in 2012 to 92 percent in 2018. An estimated of 34.35 billion U.S. dollars were generated in revenue from Facebook mobile advertising in 2016. These figures are expected to continue to grow in the coming years, with projections to pass the 60 billion U.S. dollars mark for the first time in 2021. According to forecasts, mobile sponsored stories ads is estimated to account for about half of this revenue; the social network's global mobile sponsored stories ad revenue is projected to reach almost 31 billion U.S. dollars by 2021.

Japan FB: SA: Revenue: National Hospitals: Sanatorium data was reported at 408.315 JPY bn in 2004. This records a decrease from the previous number of 437.035 JPY bn for 2003. Japan FB: SA: Revenue: National Hospitals: Sanatorium data is updated yearly, averaging 455.075 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2004, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 494.176 JPY bn in 1999 and a record low of 408.315 JPY bn in 2004. Japan FB: SA: Revenue: National Hospitals: Sanatorium data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F024: Government Budget: Final: Special Account: Revenue.

FB: SA: Exp: RD: Guarantee Account data was reported at 8.637 JPY bn in 2008. This records an increase from the previous number of 8.083 JPY bn for 2007. FB: SA: Exp: RD: Guarantee Account data is updated yearly, averaging 8.637 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2008, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.862 JPY bn in 1999 and a record low of 8.066 JPY bn in 2004. FB: SA: Exp: RD: Guarantee Account data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F025: Government Budget: Final: Special Account: Expenditure.

Since it was first launched in 2004, Facebook has developed from a humble social media page to a global phenomenon. The site can be used for catching up with friends, advertising businesses, and passing the time with games. The two most popular games on the social media site are 8 Ball Pool and Candy Crush Saga, both of which boasted 10 million daily active users in 2019.

Candy Crush’s sweet success Developed by King, Candy Crush Saga is a puzzle video game in which players swap different types of candy on a game board in order to match three or more of the same type. The game was first released on Facebook in 2012 and has since become available on most mobile operating systems and on browser. Although the game is free-to-play, users have the choice of purchasing power-ups in order to help them get past particularly tricky levels. The original Candy Crush Saga generated revenue of 945 million U.S. dollars worldwide in 2018, while the newest release, Candy Crush Friends Saga, generated a further three million U.S. dollars. Unsurprisingly, King has seen its revenue skyrocket after the global success of Candy Crush – the comparatively humble revenue of 58.5 million U.S. dollars in 2010 soared to over two billion U.S. dollars by 2018.

King vs. Zynga One of King’s biggest rivals in the social gaming world is Zynga. The company’s best-known game is FarmVille, an agricultural simulation game which launched in 2009. Its sequel, FarmVille 2, was launched in 2012 and can still be found on the list of the most popular Facebook games based on number of daily active users. Zynga’s revenue stood at 907 million U.S. dollars in 2018. The popularity of FarmVille can be seen by the fact that the company’s revenue peaked in 2012, the year that the game was released.

Japan FB: GA: Revenue: Misc: Contributions data was reported at 708.440 JPY bn in 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 880.975 JPY bn for 2017. Japan FB: GA: Revenue: Misc: Contributions data is updated yearly, averaging 918.996 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2018, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,099.082 JPY bn in 2012 and a record low of 581.034 JPY bn in 2004. Japan FB: GA: Revenue: Misc: Contributions data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F021: Government Budget: Final: General Account: Revenue.

Japan FB: SA: Exp: National Schools data was reported at 2,751.279 JPY bn in 2004. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2,870.706 JPY bn for 2003. Japan FB: SA: Exp: National Schools data is updated yearly, averaging 2,870.706 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2004, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,224.579 JPY bn in 1999 and a record low of 2,664.966 JPY bn in 1998. Japan FB: SA: Exp: National Schools data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F025: Government Budget: Final: Special Account: Expenditure.

FB: SA: Revenue: AR: Garden Facilities Program data was reported at 5.253 JPY bn in 2012. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.041 JPY bn for 2011. FB: SA: Revenue: AR: Garden Facilities Program data is updated yearly, averaging 5.164 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2012, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.306 JPY bn in 2003 and a record low of 4.582 JPY bn in 2004. FB: SA: Revenue: AR: Garden Facilities Program data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F024: Government Budget: Final: Special Account: Revenue.

Japan FB: SA: Revenue: National Forest Service: Mountain Area data was reported at 173.511 JPY bn in 2006. This records a decrease from the previous number of 192.147 JPY bn for 2005. Japan FB: SA: Revenue: National Forest Service: Mountain Area data is updated yearly, averaging 223.577 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2006, with 9 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 285.549 JPY bn in 1999 and a record low of 150.869 JPY bn in 2004. Japan FB: SA: Revenue: National Forest Service: Mountain Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F024: Government Budget: Final: Special Account: Revenue.

Japan FB: GA: Non Tax Revenue data was reported at 5,842.888 JPY bn in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,327.415 JPY bn for 2017. Japan FB: GA: Non Tax Revenue data is updated yearly, averaging 5,880.483 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2018, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12,782.393 JPY bn in 2011 and a record low of 3,708.568 JPY bn in 2004. Japan FB: GA: Non Tax Revenue data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F021: Government Budget: Final: General Account: Revenue.

FB: GA: Exp: Ministry of Finance data was reported at 24,848.680 JPY bn in 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 25,088.861 JPY bn for 2017. FB: GA: Exp: Ministry of Finance data is updated yearly, averaging 23,429.416 JPY bn from Mar 1998 (Median) to 2018, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 25,534.814 JPY bn in 2014 and a record low of 17,827.274 JPY bn in 2004. FB: GA: Exp: Ministry of Finance data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Finance. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.F023: Government Budget: Final: General Account: Expenditure: By Agency.

Launched in 2004, Facebook has been a global leader within the social networks. Sweden made no exception and Facebook was the leading social media platform in the country in 2020, followed by Instagram and Snapchat. 81 percent of the surveyed internet users in Sweden stated to be using Facebook. Moreover, the majority of the users were going on Facebook several times a day the same year. Nearly all users were going on Facebook at least monthly.

Who is on Facebook?

Within the Nordic countries, Facebook was slightly more popular among women than men in 2020. Norway was an exception to this, with an equal distribution of male and female audience. By contrast, on a global scale, Facebook usage seemed to be more common among men than women.

Social media in the Nordics

Iceland topped the ranking of active social media users in the Nordic countries in 2020. The data was based on the monthly active users reported by the most active social media platform in each country. Finland was the country with the lowest share of active social media users in the region.