What is the age range of Instagram users in Belgium? In 2019, over 80 percent of all 16-to 24- year-olds in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) used the photo-sharing app. The numbers provided here come from a survey held in this region only. Unlike other countries, Belgium consists of four parts: the federal level and three regions: Flanders, Wallonia (the French-speaking part) and the Brussels Capital-Region (the city of Brussels and its surrounding villages). Because of this socio-political aspect, research on Belgium sometimes focuses exclusively on certain regions. Overall, active Instagram users made up roughly 25 percent of Belgium’s total population in 2018.

Instagram not as popular in Belgium as in other countries

The share of the population that used the social media platform was comparable with Luxembourg and France, yet higher than in Germany. However, the penetration rate was not as high as in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Which Instagram features are used?

In a 2018 survey, more than 90 percent of Flemish teenagers said that liking a photo from someone else was a frequently used feature of Instagram. Sharing an Insta Story was done less often: roughly 45 percent did this. Which photos would Belgians respond to? These could come from influencers. In July 2018, popular YouTube vlogger Gaëlle Garcia Diaz had the most followers of all Instagram influencers coming from Belgium.

How many people use Instagram?

Instagram is a social media app which focuses on photo and video sharing. It is owned by Facebook, which recently rebranded as Meta, in a move towards the metaverse. As of December 2021, Instagram reached a new milestone of 2 billion active users worldwide. The platform previously reached 1 billion users in June 2018.

Users aged 25 to 34 years made up the biggest Instagram user group by age worldwide, followed by 18 to 24 year olds. Overall, men accounted for 51.6 percent of global Instagram users.

Most popular Instagram accounts and content

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was the most followed person on Instagram as of 2021, with approximately 315 million followers. Ranked in second and third position were the Rock and Ariana Grande, both having over 250 million followers each.

It’s not only athletes and actors who drive the views on Instagram though. Instagram has long since become a medium for people and communities to spread their messages, and in the past two years, social activists and educators have used Instagram for their movements. Political and educational accounts generate high engagement rates with their content. Posts from political accounts receive an average engagement rate of 2.74 percent and educational posts receive an average of 2.56 percent.

Social media usage worldwide

There are 3.4 billion social media users worldwide and this is expected to increase to 4.41 billion by 2025. Instagram is most popular in India with a total of 201.1 million users, followed by the U.S. with 157.1 million and Brazil with 114.9 million active users. Instagram is the fourth most popular social media site in the world, after Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp, respectively.

As of October 2021, Brunei was the country with the highest Instagram audience reach with 92 percent of the population using the platform. This was followed by Guam with 79.2 percent and the Cayman Islands with 78.8 percent audience reach.

As of October 2021, Facebook had almost 3 billion users worldwide. The penetration rate for Facebook in the United States in 2021 was 70.59 percent and it is expected to reach 76.87 percent by 2026.

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.

Instagram had an online reach of more than 9.5 million people in the Netherlands in August 2020, an increase when compared to Christmas 2019. Dutch audiences were most exposed to Instagram on their smartphone. As of 2018, roughly 73 percent of Dutch respondents aged 15 to 19 years old used Instagram. Instagram usage of Dutch individuals is increasing among all age groups but the biggest rise in Instagram usage penetration can be seen among the Dutch population younger than 40 years old.

Reach is normally defined as the percentage of visitors that visited specific content at least once during a certain period. The Netherlands has two different methods to measure online reach (in Dutch: bereik) of brands: GfK DAM and the "Nederlands Online Bereiksonderzoek" or NoBO. The numbers provided here are from the latter.

In 2021, there were 1.21 billion monthly active users of Meta's Instagram, making up over 28 percent of the world's internet users. By 2025, it has been forecast that there will be 1.44 billion monthly active users of the social media platform, which would account for 31.2 percent of global internet users.

How popular is Instagram?

Instagram, as of January 2022, was the fourth most popular social media platform in the world in terms of user numbers. YouTube and WhatsApp ranked in second and third place, respectively, whilst Facebook remained the most popular, with almost three billion monthly active users worldwide.

India had the largest number of Instagram users as of January 2022, with a total of over 230 million users in the country. The second-largest Instagram audience could be found in the United States, with almost 160 million people subscribing to the photo and video sharing app.

Gen Z and Instagram

As of September 2021, Gen Z users in the United States spent an average of five hours per week on Instagram. Although Instagram ranked third in terms of hours per week spent on the platform, Gen Z users spent considerably more time on TikTok, amounting to a weekly average of over 10 hours being spent on the mobile-first video app.

Most followed accounts on Instagram

As of May 2022, Instagram’s own account had 504.37 million followers. In terms of celebrities, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (@chistiano) had over 440.41 million followers on the social network. Moreover, the average media value of an Instagram post by Ronaldo was over 985,000 U.S. dollars.

The most liked post on Instagram as of May 2022 was Photo of an Egg, which was posted in 2019 by the account @world_record_egg. Photo of an Egg has not only exceeded 55 million likes on the platform, but it also has nearly 3.5 million comments, and the account itself has over 4.5 million Instagram followers. After mysterious posts published by the account, World Record Egg revealed itself as part of a mental health campaign aimed at the difficulties and demands of using social media.

How many people use social media? Social media usage is one of the most popular online activities. In 2024, over five billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to over six billion in 2028.

Who uses social media? Social networking is one of the most popular digital activities worldwide and it is no surprise that social networking penetration across all regions is constantly increasing. As of January 2023, the global social media usage rate stood at 59 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.

How much time do people spend on social media? Social media is an integral part of daily internet usage. On average, internet users spend 151 minutes per day on social media and messaging apps, an increase of 40 minutes since 2015. On average, internet users in Latin America had the highest average time spent per day on social media.

What are the most popular social media platforms? Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently boasts approximately 2.9 billion monthly active users, making it the most popular social network worldwide. In June 2023, the top social media apps in the Apple App Store included mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram Messenger, as well as the ever-popular app version of Facebook.

The number of Instagram users in Vietnam was forecast to increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 0.9 million users (+5.06 percent). This overall increase does not happen continuously, notably not in 2027 and 2028. The Instagram user base is estimated to amount to 18.71 million users in 2028. Notably, the number of Instagram users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here with regards to the platform instagram, have been estimated by taking into account company filings or press material, secondary research, app downloads and traffic data. They refer to the average monthly active users over the period and count multiple accounts by persons only once.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of Instagram users in countries like Indonesia and Myanmar.

The share of social media users in German was highest among the 14-39 years age groups, though 40-49-year-olds were not far behind. While user rates are traditionally expected to be high among younger demographics, especially those born after social media emerged on the world stage, older age groups are also becoming increasingly familiar with it.

Socially acceptable

The leading social media platforms in Germany, including those primarily known for being a messaging service, are YouTube, WhatsApp and Facebook. Among social media apps downloaded in the Google Play Store, to name one example, the most popular one was Instagram, owned by Facebook. In fact, Facebook usage numbers were generally high in Europe, though this was not the case for Instagram, when comparing to other countries in the world.

Rising user numbers

Social network user numbers in Germany are predicted to continue rising in the 2020s, moving towards 50 million users. The same can be said for the user penetration rate regarding social media.

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.

In December 2019, over a quarter of UK smartphone users aged between 18 and 24 were using TikTok. The video-sharing social media app has become hugely popular with "Generation Z" since its launch in September 2017. TikTok is also slightly more popular with the female demographic than it is with male smartphone users. In contrast, only 9.3 percent of 25 to 34 year-olds used the app, and overall the share of users was much lower among older age groups.

TikTok and Generation Z

Despite being used mainly by the younger generation, TikTok has been doing well in the UK. Its market penetration has been on the rise since 2017, reaching 8.7 percent of smartphone users as of December 2019. The app’s biggest increase in uptake was from 2017 to 2018, where user penetration leaped from 2.2 to 5.6 percent. TikTok is also highly popular among children 4-15 years old and was the second most used app daily in February 2020 after YouTube within that demographic. In a comparison between the top social media platforms, most children spent an average of 69 minutes daily on TikTok compared to 48 minutes and 39 minutes on Instagram and Snapchat respectively.

Facebook and YouTube still lead

When it comes to Millennials (those aged 26 to 35 years) however, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are regarded as the most important social media apps after messaging tool Whatsapp. As of the third quarter of 2019, YouTube was cited by 19.2 percent of respondents as the app they could least do without, followed by Facebook and Instagram. This was also reflected in the results of a UK-wide survey in 2020, where Facebook topped the list of social networks used regularly. This was followed by YouTube and Instagram, while TikTok was used regularly by a mere 10 percent of those surveyed.

As of January 2023, Nigeria had 31.6 million active social media users. WhatsApp is the most popular platform used in the country, with close to 95 percent of users. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram followed as the most used social media platforms in Nigeria.

According to a survey conducted by Ofcom in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020, 16 to 24-year-olds made up the largest group of respondents who had used social media sites or apps in the previous week. This was followed by 25 to 34-year-olds, comprising the second largest group. Overall, social media use was the highest among young adults, decreasing steadily within the older age groups.

Women and social media

In the United Kingdom, more women than men had set up their own social network profile according to an ongoing survey conducted from 2010 to 2019. By 2019, 86 percent of women and 78 percent of men had created social media profiles, a rise from 2010 where only 56 and 51 percent respectively claimed to have done the same. Despite social media having a comparatively larger female user base as demonstrated by the previous figures, the share of advertising audience in early 2020 was nearly evenly distributed between males and females, particularly in the largest audience group of 18 to 44-year-olds.

The growth of influencer marketing

Social media advertising spend has been on the rise in the UK, reaching over three billion British pounds by 2018. This was a near 30 percent increase from the previous year. The sector also experienced a 40 percent increase in spend per year between 2015 and 2017, further demonstrating the growth of this marketing niche. With the rise of YouTube and Instagram, influencer marketing has come to play a crucial role in social media advertising with 68 percent of PR professionals having allocated between 10 thousand and over 100 thousand British pounds for the sector in 2018. In collaborating with influencers who have an established follower-base, marketers are able to quickly build trust, increase reach, and engage audiences effectively.

It was estimated that by 2029, over 95 million Filipinos will become social network users. Considering the forecasted population of around 119 million, this highlights the key role of social media among Filipino internet users.

Is the Philippines the social media capital?
The Philippines have been called the social media capital of the world because of their extraordinarily high usage time of about three hours per day. Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram have emerged as the leading platforms used monthly by Filipino internet users. Additionally, Filipinos were known as early technology adopters, as well as being highly internet-savvy.

How are the Philippines able to improve its accessibility?
While Filipino online users continue to ride the wave of internet trends, the current network infrastructure still needs improvement. The archipelago consists of around seven thousand islands, making it challenging for the government to provide basic connectivity for all. As of 2022, it was estimated that there were about 56 percent of Filipinos had internet access. Although this figure was seen to improve in the succeeding years, measures to speed up the internet connection speed in the Philippines should be laid out to cater to the population’s needs.

In 2022, YouTube was the most used social platform among children and teenagers in the United Kingdom, with 88 percent of respondents stating that they had used the service. WhatsApp ranked second, with 55 percent of kids and teens in the UK being active on the platform. Additionally, usage of TikTok and Snapchat increased from 2021 to 2021 among those aged three to 17 in the UK.

Youth accounts on the rise again From 80 percent in 2012, the share of children aged 12 to 15 years of age with a social media account fell to 70 percent in 2018, but increased again in 2020, peaking at 87 percent. Despite some major social networks setting minimum age limits in their terms of service, 30 percent of children aged 5 to 7 years had a social media account in 2020, according to Ofcom.

Facebook falling out of favor with teens Among teens and young adults in the United States, Youtuba and Instagram had a higher reach than any other social network, slightly ahead of Facebook and Snapchat. When you remove young adults from the picture, Snapchat is clearly the most important social network and Facebook barely comes into the equation. Since the Fall/Autumn period of 2017, less than ten percent of teens in the United States said Facebook was their most important social network, compared with more than 34 percent of teens who nominated Snapchat. The new hot trend among Gen Z is TikTok, selected by 29 percent of respondents and ranking second.

As of June 2020, 62 percent of parents to U.S. teens aged 14 to 17 years stated that their kids were spending more than four hours per day on electronic devices since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 32 percent of responding parents stated that their teens had used electronic devices daily for more than four hours before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the pandemic triggered a rise in the use of electronic devices among American children under 13 and teenagers with screentime now double that of what it used to be across all age groups.

YouTube, Netflix and Instagram dominate

In an ongoing survey between 2015 and 2020 it was reported that the most popular video platforms among teens in the U.S. were Netflix and YouTube, and the pandemic has done little to shift that. Cable TV viewership continued to decline throughout 2020, while Hulu rose in popularity during this time. Meanwhile, despite a slight drop in viewership Netflix and YouTube retained their positions as the top two video services after the onset of the pandemic. YouTube and Instagram were also named the most popular social media channels among teens and young adults, as of the third quarter of 2020. Due to their booming popularity, it is no wonder that advertisers have been increasingly targeting these networks, with social media add spend having been on the rise each year since 2017. The biggest growth surge has come from mobile advertising, while spend on desktop advertising has remained nearly the same.

Texting and phone calls most preferred during lockdown

As most of the world entered lockdown during the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, teens in the U.S. were asked which technologies they had used to virtually connect with friends and family during this time. 'Texting' was the most preferred method, named by over 80 percent followed by phone calls. Meanwhile, video chat and social media came in third.