The number of social media users in Singapore was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.2 million users (+3.6 percent). After the eleventh consecutive increasing year, the social media user base is estimated to reach 5.75 million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of social media users of was continuously increasing over the past years.The shown figures regarding social media users have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.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).

The social media penetration rate in Singapore was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 4.6 (+4.86 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the penetration rate is estimated to reach 99.24 and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the social media penetration rate of was continuously increasing over the past years.

As of February 2025, social media usage penetration in Singapore reached close to 88.2 percent, followed by Malaysia at 70.2 percent. In contrast, Indonesia, the Southeast Asia's most populous country, had a social media penetration of around 50.2 percent that year. Social media engagement in APAC region Chinese citizens have a sizable online presence, with over one billion active social media users in 2025. In terms of social media activity, other Asia-Pacific countries and regions appeared to lag behind China. India and Indonesia, the second and third most populous countries in terms of social media, had more than 481 and 143 million active social media users, respectively. In terms of traffic, Facebook was the most popular social media platform in Southeast Asia in 2024, with the highest share in Timor-Leste at around 97 percent. Other international platforms with significant market shares in Southeast Asian markets in 2024 included YouTube, X, Instagram, and Pinterest. Social media user penetration APAC South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore had the highest active social media user penetration rates in the Asia-Pacific region as of January 2024. In comparison, highly populated countries like Indonesia, China, and India showcased lower rates, indicating untapped growth potential for the social media market. At the same time, internet users in Indonesia came second only to those in the Philippines in regard to daily time spent on social media, with users in the Philippines spending on average four hours a day using social media platforms. In comparison, in the same year, internet users in Japan spent around 50 minutes per day on social media.

As of May 2024, 53 percent of Gen Z respondents spent more time on social media than they did a year ago. Millennials showed a similar dynamic, with 48 percent stating that their social media use had increased compared to the previous year.

According to a survey on social commerce conducted by Rakuten Insight in Singapore in 2023, approximately 64 percent of respondents between 16 and 24 years answered that they used Instagram for purchases during the last 12 months. The same survey indicated that around 27 percent of Singaporean consumers regularly shopped on social media.

As of January 2024, 55 percent of the advertising audience on Instagram were female. Meanwhile, 47.8 percent of the advertising audience on Snapchat were male and 49.3 percent of the advertising audience on Tiktok were female.

According to a report published by DataReportal, as of the third quarter of 2023, 43.4 percent of respondents in Singapore stated that their main reason to use social media was to keep in touch with friends and family. Other leading reasons also include filling spare time and reading news stories.

According to a survey on social commerce conducted by Rakuten Insight in Singapore in 2023, approximately 53 percent of respondents answered that they used Facebook for purchases during the last 12 months. The same survey indicated that around 27 percent of Singaporean consumers regularly shopped on social media.

The number of WhatsApp users in Singapore was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.1 million users. After the third consecutive decreasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach 4.76 million users and therefore a new minimum 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 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 Philippines and Cambodia.

As of the third quarter of 2023, 33.3 percent of internet users in Singapore between 16 and 64 years who used social media used social networks to find information about brands and products. In total, 64.9 percent of internet users who used social media in Singapore used these platforms to search for information about brands and products.

According to a survey on social commerce conducted by Rakuten Insight in Singapore in 2023, approximately 49 percent of female and 58 percent of male respondents answered that they used Facebook for purchases during the last 12 months. The same survey indicated that around 27 percent of Singaporean consumers regularly shopped on social media.

As of December 2023, over 18 percent of the female Instagram users were between 25 to 34 years old, compared to only 1.9 percent who were older than 65 years. Instagram could therefore be considered as one of the most popular social networks for millennials in Singapore.

Instagram in general

The Facebook-owned social network counts about 1.21 billion active users worldwide. In Singapore, Instagram ranks third among the leading social media platforms . Compared to Facebook, Instagram is a more visual-based platform, originally designed as an online showroom for brands. Nowadays it provides the perfect environment for users to easily display their life to a larger audience and follow people/brands all over the world.

Social media in Singapore

Instagram has thus emerged as an important promotional platform for brands. In Singapore, brands could reach a target audience of up to 5.67 million people or about 86 percent of the population. Unlike traditional advertising channels such as in print media or television, social media advertising, especially Instagram, can be tailored to reach the intended audience. The private information that users share on the platform helps companies to address the right target group for their branding and advertising campaigns, therefore further enhancing their impact.

The number of internet users in Singapore was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.2 million users (+3.5 percent). After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the number of users is estimated to reach 5.88 million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Depicted is the estimated number of individuals in the country or region at hand, that use the internet. As the datasource clarifies, connection quality and usage frequency are distinct aspects, not taken into account here.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 further information concerning the Philippines and Thailand.

Facebook was Singapore’s most popular social media app with an average penetration rate of 94 percent as of June 2016. Nevertheless, Facebook does not seem to be the platform of the future. Only about 84 percent of respondents aged 15 to 24 years old had a Facebook app installed on their mobile phone, slightly less than Instagram, which had an installation rate of 87 percent.

Importance of social media in Singapore

In a country where almost everyone has access to the internet, social media plays an important role in the purchasing behavior of Singaporeans. With 5.61 million inhabitants and 4.8 million internet users, Singapore has one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the world. It was forecasted that around 3.4 million inhabitants use social media on their mobile phones, representing almost 71 percent of all Singaporean internet users.

Does the most popular app reflect the most popular platform too?

Not necessarily – there are many ways to be on social media without installing an app. Those users were not taken into account in this survey. Other than that, it depends on what was considered a social media platform too. If you count YouTube and WhatsApp as social media platforms, they would emerge as the most popular. However, considering only the traditional platforms, Facebook remains by far the market leader, followed by Instagram and Twitter.

According to the results of a survey conducted in Singapore in April 2022, 23 percent of respondents aged between 18 and 33 years stated that they used social media as a news source. In contrast, four percent of respondents aged 65 years and older reported using social media for news.

As of May 2024, 40 percent of respondents in Singapore spent up to five hours on social media weekly. Only six percent of respondents indicated not using social media.

As of February 2025, South Korea had the highest social media penetration rate in the Asia-Pacific region, at around 95 percent. This was followed closely by Singapore with about 88 percent. In comparison, Afghanistan had a social media penetration rate of around 9.4 percent that year. Social media in APAC While Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia have relatively high social media penetration rates, the number of active social media users in the Asia-Pacific region paints a very different picture. China dominates the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in terms of the number of active social media users, surpassing the one-billion mark. This far exceeds the number of users in second-placed India. In comparison, during the same period, South Korea had about 48.9 million social media users, while Singapore had only around 5.2 million.  What are the most popular social networks? Facebook boasted an enormous number of monthly active users in the Asia-Pacific region, cementing itself as a firm favorite among Asia-Pacific social media users. While global platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube enjoy widespread popularity across the region, many markets have their own preferences for local social media platforms due to cultural relevance, government censorship, and tailored features. For instance, in China, WeChat dominates as an all-in-one app for messaging, payments, and social networking, while Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has the highest monthly active users among short-form video apps in China. In South Korea, KakaoTalk is widely used for messaging, as well as integrated services like mobile payments, gaming, and even ride-hailing. KakaoTalk’s monthly active users in South Korea has consistently increased in the past years.

 In 2020, around 88.5 percent of the Singapore population were using the internet. By 2026, this figure is projected to grow to more than 94 percent. The use of the internet in Singapore has been inseparable from its people’s daily activities.

Internet usage in Singapore   Internet users in Singapore spent around eight hours of daily internet use on average. They mostly used the internet for personal purposes such as shopping online. One of the reasons being was the growing number of businesses going digital in the country that enhanced the customers’ shopping experience. Therefore, many Singaporeans shifted their way of shopping from offline to online for convenience.

Digital devices   For internet access, the majority of internet users in the country also prioritized convenience. A large proportion of the population in the country accessed the internet through their mobile devices. As of the third quarter of 2020, 98 percent of the total population owned a digital device in the form of a smartphone.

A survey conducted on digital media literacy in Singapore in 2019 found that social networks are the most used non-legacy media, with more than 57 percent of the respondents online on social networking platforms at least a few times a week. It is followed by instant messaging platforms and search engines.

As of the third quarter of 2023, 49.3 percent of internet users in Singapore between 16 and 64 years researched brands online before making a purchase. In comparison, 11.9 percent of internet users clicked or tapped on a sponsored social media post in the past 30 days.