As of March 2025, WhatsApp had three billion monthly active users, up from over 2 billion MAU in March 2020. The service is one of the most popular mobile messaging apps worldwide and was acquired by social network Facebook for 19 billion U.S. dollars in February 2014. WhatsApp WhatsApp is a cross-platform instant messaging service for smartphones that relies on the internet for the transmission of messages. Based on a low-cost subscription model, WhatsApp is a cheap alternative to carrier-billed text messaging via SMS, especially for international or group messaging. The mobile messaging app enables users to share text, image and video messages. In the United States, the WhatsApp audience amounted to 68.1 million users in 2019 and is set to grow to 85.8 million users in 2023. WhatsApp is especially popular in markets outside the United States while facing strong competition from Asia-based social messenger apps such as WeChat, LINE or Kakaotalk. WhatsApp’s popularity in emerging mobile markets is not only based on their low-cost business model but on many of its features.

In 2021, WhatsApp's user base in India amounts to approximately ****** million users. The number of WhatsApp users in India is projected to reach ****** million users by 2025. User figures 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.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 *** 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).

WhatsApp is estimated to have reached almost *********** unique active users worldwide in June 2025, up by *** percent compared to the corresponding month in 2024. The popular instant messaging platform, which hit *********** monthly active users in February 2022, was the leading communication channel for global smartphone users in 2024.

The number of WhatsApp users in Mexico was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (+**** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ***** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like United States and Canada.

This statistic shows a ranking of the estimated worldwide number of Whatsapp users in 2020, differentiated by country. The user numbers 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.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 more than *** countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

In 2021, WhatsApp's user base in France amounts to approximately ***** million users. The number of WhatsApp users in France is projected to reach ***** million users by 2025. User figures 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.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 *** 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).

India recorded about 200 million monthly active users in February 2017. With over 460 million internet users, India ranked second largest in the internet market worldwide. By 2023, it was estimated that this figure would surpass over 666 million internet users. Interestingly, amongst these users, over 390 million people accessed the web over their mobile phones. The rise of digital India With a mobile friendly approach to the internet, the use of social media applications was correspondingly high in India. By 2021, studies had found that around 29 percent of the total population would be active social media users. Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp were ranked among the most popular social networking sites in the country based on usage reach. Social media transcends socio-economic boundaries The high penetration of the mobile messaging application came as no surprise considering that the use of the messaging app had been increasing rapidly over the last few years. Although most WhatsApp users came from urban areas, rural areas recorded an increasing share of the app adoption. This adoption spread was also true across income groups. With increasing social media usage, there was also rising issues with the believability of information shared over these platforms, leading to the increase in fake news and cybercrime.

The number of WhatsApp users in Brazil was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *********** users (***** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ****** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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).

The number of WhatsApp users in the Caribbean was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (***** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach **** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Europe and Asia.

The number of WhatsApp users in South America was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (+**** percent). After the fifth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ****** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Europe and Australia & Oceania.

The global number of WhatsApp users in was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total **** million users (+**** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ****** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Asia and South America.

In 2023, the Netherlands counted over 13.3 million WhatsApp users, an increase of approximately 6.4 percent compared to the previous year. In recent years, the number of WhatsApp users in the country has experienced slow but steady growth.

Messaging and communication platforms in the Netherlands

As of 2022, instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger were the go-to platforms for social interaction, with 64 percent of Dutch respondents reporting using them regularly. Meta-owned messaging platforms WhatsApp and Messenger were the leading communication platforms for Dutch users in 2022. According to a 2022 survey of Dutch users, almost nine out of every 10 respondents reported using WhatsApp. Facebook Messenger ranked second, with approximately half of the Netherlands digital population reporting using this platform.

Social media use in the Netherlands

Internet users in the Netherlands were also frequent users of social networks, with 64 percent of respondents reporting using social media on a daily basis in 2022. In 2022, among the most common social media activities in the Netherlands was sending private messages, with 48 percent of respondents reporting engaging in this online activity. Social media activities such as following people and liking other users' pictures ranked second, with 40 percent of respondents engaging in each of them.

The number of WhatsApp users in Nigeria was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total **** million users (+***** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ***** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Ivory Coast and Ghana.

There are over *** million WhatsApp users in ***** alone, making it the leading country in terms of WhatsApp audience size. Second-ranked ****** had ***** million WhatsApp messenger users. ******** is one of the most used messaging services worldwide.

As of the second quarter of 2025, WhatsApp usage was highest in Africa and Latin America. Among the markets observed, Ghana recorded the largest share of its digital population using the mobile messaging platform, at **** percent. In contrast, the app was far less popular in Asia, particularly in Japan, where only *** percent of internet users had used WhatsApp in the past month. WhatsApp usage worldwide As of February 2025, WhatsApp counted roughly two billion global monthly active users. The Facebook-owned mobile messaging service is particularly popular in mobile-first countries, with more than ***** million downloads during the fourth quarter of 2024 in India alone. However, after the app’s 2021 controversial privacy update, ** percent of users in the country have intended to drastically reduce their WhatsApp usage and start using other communication channels, like SMS, e-mails, or migrate to WhatsApp competitors Telegram and Signal. WhatsApp privacy update woes WhatsApp’s major privacy policy update announced on January 4, 2021 was not well received by users worldwide. The most controversial aspect of the update saw WhatsApp requesting users to give permission to share data like mobile phone numbers and locations with its parent company Facebook or stop using the app altogether. As a result, WhatsApp faced a *** million U.S. dollars fine from the Data Protection Commission for not respecting Europe’s GDPR, as well as a ******* euros fine in Turkey for privacy rules violations.Subsequently, many users chose to migrate towards competing messaging platforms like Telegram and Signal. During the first quarter of 2021, Telegram downloads worldwide spiked, reaching ***** million downloads in the Asia-Pacific region. Similarly, Signal reached ** million installs in January 2021, up by more than **** percent compared to the previous month.

The number of WhatsApp users in Thailand was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total **** million users. The WhatsApp user base is estimated to amount to **** million users in 2029. User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Cambodia and Philippines.

The number of WhatsApp users in Europe was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (+**** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ****** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 WhatsApp users in countries like Africa and South America.

The number of WhatsApp users in Indonesia was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (+**** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ****** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Vietnam and Malaysia.

The number of WhatsApp users in Egypt was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (+**** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ***** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Algeria and Tunisia.

The number of WhatsApp users in Africa was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total **** million users (+***** percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach ****** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users of was continuously increasing over the past years.User figures, shown here regarding the platform whatsapp, 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.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 *** 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 WhatsApp users in countries like Asia and the Americas.