Market leader Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently sits at more than three billion monthly active users. Meta Platforms owns four of the biggest social media platforms, all with more than one billion monthly active users each: Facebook (core platform), WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram. In the third quarter of 2023, Facebook reported around four billion monthly core Family product users. The United States and China account for the most high-profile social platforms Most top ranked social networks with more than 100 million users originated in the United States, but services like Chinese social networks WeChat, QQ or video sharing app Douyin have also garnered mainstream appeal in their respective regions due to local context and content. Douyin’s popularity has led to the platform releasing an international version of its network: a little app called TikTok. How many people use social media? The leading social networks are usually available in multiple languages and enable users to connect with friends or people across geographical, political, or economic borders. In 2025, social networking sites are estimated to reach 5.42 billion users and these figures are still expected to grow as mobile device usage and mobile social networks increasingly gain traction in previously underserved markets.

In 2022, Instagram was the world's leading social media app, with *** million downloads WhatsApp ranked second with *** million downloads, while Telegram surpassed the remaining mobile versions of Meta-owned social media platforms Facebook and Messenger. Newcomer BeReal, a photo-sharing social media app launched in 2020, entered the ranking in tenth position with over ** million global downloads during the examined year.

In 2022, Whatsapp was the most popular social media platform in Saudi Arabia, at around ***** million users. The total number of social media users in the country for that year was about **** million.

In 2022, Instagram was the most popular social media platform among Asian influencers, with more than ** percent of influencers in the region using the platform. YouTube ranked second, after having been the most popular platform among influencers in Asia in 2020 and 2021.

More than three-quarters of the Russian online population aged 16 years and older used the Telegram messenger, thus making it the most-used social media platform among those listed in the ranking. WhatsApp ranked second, with a penetration rate of nearly 74 percent, followed by VK and TikTok. Social media usage in Russia In 2024, the daily time spent on social media in Russia was recorded at roughly two hours and 20 minutes per user on average. After Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) were blocked in Russia at the end of February and the beginning of March 2022, a significant increase in activity was recorded on VK and Telegram. For example, the daily audience on VK increased by almost nine percent, while the number of friends requests and feed views grew by 250 percent and 25 percent, respectively. YouTube From the global perspective, YouTube ranked second after Facebook, which remained the leading social media platform with about three billion active users. The U.S.-based channel MrBeast had the highest number of subscribers on YouTube with around 343 million as of January 2025. India-based T-Series followed with 284 million subscribers as of that month.

When it comes to the most well-known social networks in the United States, YouTube and Facebook are leading the pack with a brand awareness of 96 and 95 percent respectively, among internet users. For this study, brand awareness was surveyed employing the concept of aided brand recognition, showing respondents both the brand's logo and the written brand name.

According to a May 2024 survey, WhatsApp was the most popular social media platform in Mexico. At that time, ** percent of those interviewed said they had an active account on the messaging app. Also owned by Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook and Instagram ranked second and third, being used by ** and ** percent of respondents, respectively.

Social media penetration and demographics Close to ** percent of the Mexican population was expected to be on Facebook by the end of 2023 (slightly below the estimated ***** percent for the United States during the same period). Its popularity in the North American country relies heavily on young internet users: when it comes to the distribution of Mexican Facebook users by age group, more than ** percent were between 18 and 34 years old. All news just a click away According to a February 2022 survey, half of internet users in Mexico used Facebook for news consumption, while YouTube is used by ** percent of the country's online audiences for the same function. This preference was also observed across all age groups: more than a third of the country's news consumers across all demographics turned to the Meta-owned social network to find, read, watch, share, or comment on the news.

From January to March 2022, the YouTube app was the social media platform reaching the largest advertising audience in Turkey, measuring at approximately 54 million people. Furthermore, the Instagram app and Google.com followed as the second and third best ranking platforms that reached the highest number of people with their ads.

With an **** percent user share in 2022, Whatsapp was the most popular social media platform in Saudi Arabia. For that year, the total number of social media users in the country was approximately **** million.  Social media usage in Saudi Arabia In Saudi Arabia, WhatsApp was the most popular social media platform, followed by Instagram and Twitter. The number of WhatsApp users in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow steadily between 2023 and 2028. After the fifth consecutive year of growth, the WhatsApp user base is expected to reach ***** million users, a new high in 2028. Notably, the number of WhatsApp users has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 2022, the primary reason for using social media in Saudi Arabia was to stay in touch with friends and family, followed by filling spare time.   Social media usage during Ramadan       In 2022, Muslim respondents in Saudi Arabia indicated they used social media to learn about new things they were interested in and to send greetings during Ramadan. During Ramadan, a lower percentage fewer respondents used social media to watch live videos by celebrities and publishers. Furthermore, during the same year, Muslim respondents in Saudi Arabia reported using social media to find shopping deals and promotions during Ramadan. In comparison, a lower proportion of respondents used social media to seek shopping advice from others during Ramadan.

A survey conducted in August 2022 among gamers in the United States found that approximately 56 percent of respondents aged between 16 and 29 years used YouTube to consume content related to gaming or engage in video gaming activities. Discord was the second most popular social media platform among users in this demographic, followed by the social video platform TikTok. In comparison, Facebook was the most popular social media platform in relation to gaming among users aged between 30 and 49 years, with 65 percent of respondents reporting using the platform for gaming-related activities and content consumption.

According to a survey in Singapore as of July 2022, around ** percent of respondents stated that they used Instagram the most among other social media platforms. It was followed by Facebook, TikTok, and Telegram, respectively.

As of January 2025, ** percent of social media users in the United States aged 40 to 49 years were users of Facebook, as were ** percent of ** to ** year olds in the country. Overall, ** percent of those aged 18 to 29 years were using Instagram in the U.S. The social media market in the United States The number of social media users in the United States has shown continuous growth in the past years, and it is forecast to continue increasing to reach *** million users in 2029. As of 2023, the social network user penetration in the United States amounted to an impressive ***** percent, meaning that more than nine in ten people in the country engaged with online platforms. Furthermore, Facebook was by far the most popular social media platform in the United States, accounting for ** percent of all social media visits in 2023, followed by Pinterest with **** percent of visits. The global social media landscape As of April 2024, **** billion people were social media users, accounting for **** percent of the world’s population. Northern Europe was the region with the highest social media penetration rate with a reach of **** percent, followed by Western Europe with **** percent and Eastern Asia **** percent. In contrast, less than one in ten people in Middle Africa used social networks. Facebook’s popularity is not limited to the United States: this network leads the market on a global scale, and it accumulated more than three billion monthly active users (MAU) as of 2024, which is far more any other social media platform. YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp followed, all with *** billion or more MAU.

As of September 2023, YouTube as the most popular social media platform for global users, with 97 percent of respondents reporting to use the popular video platform. YouTube was also the most popular social media among Gen Z users, with 96 percent of respondents in this age group reporting to have used the video platform as of the examined period. Facebook's usage kept steady among among the general digital population, with around eight in 10 reporting to have used the platform. In comparison, the social media's popularity was in free fall among gen Z users with only four in 10 among those surveyed reporting to engage with the Meta-powered platform.

As of February 2025, nearly ** percent of the internet users in Morocco used WhatsApp each month. Facebook and Facebook Messenger ranked as the second and third most popular social media platforms in the country, with a share of **** percent and **** percent, respectively. Social media users keep increasing With the rising internet penetration rate and mobile internet adoption, the use of social media has increased in Morocco in recent years. In 2025, social media users in the country amounted to around **** million. This marked a steady growth over the previous years, rising from around ** million in 2017 to ** million in 2022, before experiencing a decline. As the most popular social media platform, Facebook accounted for about 25.89 million users in 2025, with the number being forecast to increase to more than ** million by 2028. In comparison, approximately *** million people actively used Instagram in 2025, and it is projected to reach **** million in 2026. Sending messages is the primary online activity Among the different types of social media, Moroccans regularly used instant messenger platforms, such as WhatsApp, and social networks like Facebook as of 2023. In contrast, consumer review networks and discussion forums were the least used platforms. In the same year, the most popular activities among Moroccan social media users were sending private messages, commenting on posts, liking other users’ posts, and following people. As of 2023, users in Morocco spent an average of * hours and * hours and ** minutes per day on social media. The average time was lower than in other African countries such as Nigeria (* hours and ** minutes) and South Africa (* hours and ** minutes).

According to a survey on digital usage in China, around 91.8 percent of respondents had used WeChat as of the third quarter of 2023. The short video app Douyin, the social commerce site Xiaohongshu, and the Twitter-like site Weibo, were among the most popular social media platforms in China. How successful is WeChat in China? The country’s most popular messaging app, WeChat, boasts over one billion monthly active users. For many Chinese consumers, WeChat is part of daily life, helping them to organize tasks such as paying bills, ordering food delivery, and calling a taxi. On average, WeChat users spent about an hour and 20 minutes per day on the app. Large user base with high engagement The social media scene in China is huge and mobile-centric. In 2023, the social media penetration rate amounted to 74 percent in China, slightly higher than in countries like the United States and Japan. While the user number has shown signs of reaching a saturation point, Chinese consumers have been spending more time online, with a considerable daily usage of social media.

As of October 2022, TikTok was estimated to have *** billion monthly active users (MAU) worldwide. The popular short-video social platform was projected to reach *** billion MAU by the end of 2026. In comparison, social and photo platform Instagram was projected to reach *** billion MAU by the end of 2026.

In 2022, Facebook was the most used social media platform among Generation Zs in Thailand, used by ** percent of respondents. Other popular social media platforms which were used among this age group were Line and YouTube.

Facebook is the dominant social media platform in Ukraine as of March 2024, capturing **** percent of all social media visits in March 2024. YouTube followed with ***** percent. Changing social media landscape in Ukraine and Russia While YouTube gains prominence in Ukraine, the social media landscape in neighboring Russia has undergone dramatic changes. Telegram has become the most popular platform among Russian internet users, with over ************** of the online population using the messenger app. This shift can be attributed to the banning of Western platforms like Facebook and Instagram in Russia in March 2022, following the country's invasion of Ukraine. Impact on global social media giants The evolving social media preferences in Ukraine and Russia have had notable impacts on global platforms. Facebook, which remains the world's leading social network with about three billion active users, has seen its user base in Russia decline from **** million in January 2022 to below 71 million by January 2025. Similarly, Instagram experienced a drop in Russian users.

A survey conducted in August 2022 among gamers in the United States found that approximately six in 10 respondents used YouTube in relation to gaming or gaming content. Facebook was the second most popular social media platform to use in regard to gaming content or activities. VoIP and communication channel Discord was reportedly used by around 40 percent of respondents, while Reddit was used by 23 percent of respondents.

During a 2022 survey carried out in the United Kingdom, Instagram and Facebook emerged neck-to-neck as the most popular social media platforms that the responding B2C marketers use for marketing with a share of mentions of ***** percent and ***** percent, respectively. At a share of **** percent, YouTube came in third position among the respondents.