As of April 2025, almost 32 percent of global Instagram audiences were aged between 25 and 34 years, and 29.5 percent of users were aged between 25 and 34 years. Overall, 16.3 percent of users belonged to the 35 to 44 year age group. Instagram users With roughly one billion monthly active users, Instagram belongs to the most popular social networks worldwide. The social photo sharing app is especially popular in India and in the United States, which have respectively 413.85 million and 171.7 million Instagram users each. Instagram features One of the most popular features of Instagram is Stories. Users can post photos and videos to their Stories stream and the content is live for others to view for 24 hours before it disappears. In January 2019, the company reported that there were 500 million daily active Instagram Stories users. Instagram Stories directly competes with Snapchat, another photo sharing app that initially became famous due to it’s “vanishing photos” feature. As of the first quarter of 2025, Snapchat had 460 million daily active users.

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.

As of February 2025, India had a total of 413.85 million Instagram users, the largest Instagram audience in the world. The United States had 171.7 million users, and Brazil had 140.7 million. Indonesia, Turkey, and Japan ranked in fourth, fifth and sixth position, respectively. Kazakhstan is the leading country for Instagram audience reach, with 86.2 percent of the population using the social media service. Turkey came in second, with a penetration rate of 85.5 percent and Uruguay ranked third, with 87.1 percent, followed closely by the UAE, Brazil, and Bahrain. It took Instagram 11.2 years to reach the milestone of 2 billion monthly active users worldwide. WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, took 11 years, whilst Facebook took 13.3 years and YouTube took just over 14 years. Instagram’s demographics in the United States As of March 2025, Instagram was the fourth most visited social media service in the United States, after Facebook, Pinterest and X. Out of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, TikTok was the most used of all three platforms by Generation Z. Overall, 57 percent of Gen Z social media users used Instagram in 2021, down from 61 percent in 2020 and 64 percent in 2019. Instagram finds most popularity with those in the 25 to 34 year age group, and as of January 2025, roughly 28.3 of all users in the United States belonged to this age group. The social media app was also more likely to be used by women. Most followed accounts on Instagram Instagram’s official account had the most followers as of April 2024 with over 672 million followers. Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) had over 628 million followers on the platform, while the Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi (@leomessi) had over 502 million followers. The Instagram accounts of the American singer and actress Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) and the media personality and makeup mogul Kylie Jenner (@kyliejenner) had over 400 million followers each.

There are over 2 billion registered users on Instagram in 2025.

59% of adults in the united states are using Instagram daily.

Introduction

Instagram Users statistics: Instagram has become a worldwide beast with 2 billion monthly active users (MAUs) and is the 3rd largest social network behind Facebook and YouTube. This massive user population represents around 35.9% of the 5.56 billion internet users around the world, and an incredible 34.6% of worldwide mobile users are connecting on Instagram each month.

The largest user population in India with 392.5 million, followed by the US with 172.6 million, Brazil with 141.4 million, and Indonesia with 90.2 million users. Users spend an average of almost 34 minutes each day using the platform, and this signals Instagram’s connection for deep engagement.

To better leverage, Instagram’s audience has almost equal gender representation and largely made up of Gen Z and Millennials; thus, Instagram is still a relevant channel for companies who want to access these digitally native audiences.

The most significant cohorts of users on Instagram are aged 18 – 24.

Introduction

Surprising Instagram Marketing Statistics: Instagram has solidified its position as a pivotal platform for digital marketing, boasting over 2.4 billion monthly active users globally as of 2024. India leads with approximately 362.9 million users, followed by the United States with around 158.4 million. The platform's visual-centric features, including Stories and Reels, have significantly contributed to its widespread adoption. Notably, over 400 million users engage with Instagram Stories daily

In terms of advertising, Instagram's influence is substantial. Brands are projected to invest over USD 10 billion in Instagram ads in 2024. This surge is attributed to the platform's high engagement rates and its ability to connect businesses with a diverse audience. Furthermore, Instagram is anticipated to generate more than half of Meta Platforms' advertising revenue in the U.S. by 2025, driven by improved monetization strategies and the growing popularity of short-form videos like Reels.

User engagement on Instagram remains robust. U.S. adults spend an average of 33.1 minutes per day on the platform, reflecting its integral role in daily digital consumption. Additionally, 60% of users discover new products through Instagram, underscoring its effectiveness as a tool for brand discovery and consumer influence.

Given these Instagram Marketing statistics, Instagram continues to be an essential platform for businesses aiming to enhance their online presence and engage with a global audience.

Instagram’s most popular post

              As of April 2024, the most popular post on Instagram was Lionel Messi and his teammates after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina, posted by the account @leomessi. Messi's post, which racked up over 61 million likes within a day, knocked off the reigning post, which was 'Photo of an Egg'. Originally posted in January 2021, 'Photo of an Egg' surpassed the world’s most popular Instagram post at that time, which was a photo by Kylie Jenner’s daughter totaling 18 million likes.
              After several cryptic posts published by the account, World Record Egg revealed itself to be a part of a mental health campaign aimed at the pressures of social media use.

              Instagram’s most popular accounts

              As of April 2024, the official Instagram account @instagram had the most followers of any account on the platform, with 672 million followers. Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) was the most followed individual with 628 million followers, while Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) was the most followed woman on the platform with 429 million. Additionally, Inter Miami CF striker Lionel Messi (@leomessi) had a total of 502 million. Celebrities such as The Rock, Kylie Jenner, and Ariana Grande all had over 380 million followers each.

              Instagram influencers

              In the United States, the leading content category of Instagram influencers was lifestyle, with 15.25 percent of influencers creating lifestyle content in 2021. Music ranked in second place with 10.96 percent, followed by family with 8.24 percent. Having a large audience can be very lucrative: Instagram influencers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom with over 90,000 followers made around 1,221 US dollars per post.

              Instagram around the globe

              Instagram’s worldwide popularity continues to grow, and India is the leading country in terms of number of users, with over 362.9 million users as of January 2024. The United States had 169.65 million Instagram users and Brazil had 134.6 million users. The social media platform was also very popular in Indonesia and Turkey, with 100.9 and 57.1, respectively. As of January 2024, Instagram was the fourth most popular social network in the world, behind Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp.

The average Facebook user spends about 19.6 per month on Facebook every month. This works out to be about 39 minutes per day.

Users spend an average of 19.6 hours per month on TikTok alone. This works out to be approximately 39 minutes per day.

Facebook is fast approaching 3 billion monthly active users. That’s about 36% of the world’s entire population that log in and use Facebook at least once a month.

YouTube boasts an average of 23.7 hours per month spent by users.

Introduction

Instagram Statistics: Instagram has been a major part of social media culture since 2010 and now has over 2 billion monthly active users globally, ranking it among the top five platforms in the world. Instagram’s short-form video format, Reels, hit a massive milestone of over 150 billion daily viewers coming late 2024, which is reflective of the staggering user engagement growth within the platform.

By January 2025, 5.24 billion of the world’s population, almost 64%, were using social media in some way, with Instagram a major player in that space. Unique to Instagram is the combination of visual storytelling, hashtags, discoverability features, and in-app commerce that keeps users engaged for a staggering average of almost 2 hours daily.

Instagram has shifted from a photo-sharing app to an entertainment and shopping center, all with an audience of 1.8 billion Reels users. If brands and audiences are your thing, Instagram is still a top-tier platform, a canvas and a window for a dynamic, immersive experience with limitless marketing potential.

The average Twitter user spends 5.1 hours per month on the platform.

I’ve compiled a list of the latest social media user statistics showing just how big social media has become and where it’s likely to go in the future.

According to a March 2023 survey, ** percent of Instagram users in Spain reported having checked their Instagram accounts multiple times per day. In contrast, only *** percent of users accessed the social platform less frequently than every 4 weeks.

In January 2019, photo sharing platform Instagram reported 500 million daily active Stories users worldwide, up from 400 million global DAU in June 2018. Stories is a feature of the app allowing users post photo and video sequences that disappear 24 hours after being posted. Instagram usage Instagram has over one billion monthly active users and is one of the most popular social networks worldwide. The app allows users to edit and share photos with other users, either publicly or with pre-approved followers. In 2018, the number of Instagram users in the United States was almost 105 million users, with U.S. Instagram audiences set to grow to 131 million users by 2022. As of April 2019, it was found that the United States, Brazil and India had the largest Instagram audiences with the United States heading the ranking by a wide margin. Users between the ages of 25 and 34 years constituted the biggest demographic group, followed by users aged 18 to 24 years. Overall, over two thirds of global Instagram audiences were aged 34 and younger. Advertising and marketing on Instagram Due to the visual nature of the platform, Instagram is a perfect opportunity for brands and retailers to display their products in a flattering way. Many celebrities and influencers generate a sizable income by posting ads in the form of sponsored posts on Instagram. In 2018, there were approximately 3.7 million sponsored influencer posts on the platform. The most popular content type of Instagram posts by influencers worldwide were photos – videos accounted for just 13.56 percent of influencer posts.

Snapchat now boasts over 319 million daily active users. That means it’s one of the most engaging platforms. Snapchat currently has a total user base of 800 million.

Introduction

Instagram Marketing Statistics: Instagram’s marketing dominance can no longer be dismissed. With a jaw dropping 2 billion monthly active users, and with 500 million people engaging with stories daily, while 61% look at Instagram to discover new products, business are spreading real ad dollars now, over 1 million businesses are running ads on Instagram and ad spend is expected to grow to $276.7 billion on social platforms in just 2 years.

The shift to short-form content is strong. Reels are now responsible for 45% of the time spent engaging with content on Instagram, and video posts platform's better than static images by 49%. With 90% of users following at least one business, and 70% of users engaging with Instagram stories daily, Instagram will continue to play a central role in consumer connection.

As video content and shopping functionality drive deeper and broader engagement, marketers who lean into Reels, shoppable posts, and authenticity can see real ROI and audience growth.