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. WhatsAppWhatsApp 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.

The number of WhatsApp users in North America was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 7.6 million users (+4.97 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach 160.51 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 Worldwide and Africa.

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.

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.

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 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).

In May 2022, an online survey in the United States found that around three out of ten respondents aged between 18 and 34 years had a WhatsApp account. Similarly, 27 percent of the respondents aged between 35 and 44 years were registered on the popular mobile messaging app. Registered users appeared to decline among older age groups, with only 20 percent of respondents aged between 45 and 64, as well as 11 percent of respondents aged 65 years and over reporting having a WhatsApp account.

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.

The number of WhatsApp users in Brazil was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total two million users (+1.35 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach 149.71 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).

In 2021, WhatsApp's user base in Russia amounts to approximately ***** million users. The number of WhatsApp users in Russia 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).

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).

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.

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 Thailand was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.03 million users. The WhatsApp user base is estimated to amount to 0.49 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 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 Cambodia and Philippines.

The number of WhatsApp users in the Caribbean was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.2 million users (+2.09 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the WhatsApp user base is estimated to reach 9.71 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 Europe and Asia.

In 2021, WhatsApp users aged between 18 and 39 years accounted for 18.9 million accounts in Spain, a share of more than 52 percent. Users aged between 40 to 64 years accounted for around 14.3 million Spanish WhatsApp users, while those older than 65 years old were around 2.4 million.

In 2022, the messenger application with the highest share of users in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was WhatsApp at about 80.2 percent. It was followed by Facebook Messenger at a share of about 64 percent. The total number of active social media users in the country for that year was about 9.98 million.

During the third quarter of 2024, Spain was the European country with the highest WhatsApp penetration rate, with approximately 91 percent of its digital population using the over-the-top messaging service. Portugal and Ireland followed with a penetration rate of more than 90 percent. Italy ranked fourth, with 89.8 percent of the internet users in the country using the Meta-owned service.

This statistic shows a ranking of the estimated number of Whatsapp users in 2020 in Asia, 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 150 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, women have accounted for more than 18.5 million of WhatsApp users in Spain. While men accounted for around 16.9 million, profiles of unknown gender represented around 400 thousand of this counting.