How Many People Use Facebook Messenger (2018–2022)
As one of the most popular messaging channels, running ads on Facebook Messenger should be on the top of every business’s marketing agenda.
But before doing so, it’s wise to get the lay of the land and understand its users a little. All this starts with answering one basic question about it: how many people use Facebook Messenger?
How many people use Facebook Messenger in the United States?
According to the latest statistics, the number of Facebook Messenger users in the US has been on a steady rise in recent years. In 2022, there were 138.1 million users of the app—a 1.6% increase from the previous year.
Facebook Messenger statistics also show that in the years from 2018 to 2022, the number of users increased by 11.8 million. This marked an average annual growth rate of 2.3%.
The largest year-over-year increase in the number of Facebook Messenger users in this period came in 2019. In that year, there were 130 million users, 2.9% more than the previous year.
Facebook Messenger users: age and gender demographics
Knowing the number of Facebook Messenger users isn’t enough. It’s also important to have a sense of the demographics, especially if you’re going to cater ads to these users.
Globally, the number of female and male Facebook Messenger users is pretty on par—with the platform just slightly more popular among males. As of 2023, 55.2% of Facebook Messenger users are male, while 44.8% are female.
In terms of age, most Facebook Messenger users in the US are between the ages of 25 and 44. In fact, 44.3% of them fall within this age group, with the majority (23.7%) between 25 and 34.
These Facebook Messenger statistics show that usage of the chat app from this point on decreases as users’ ages increase. For instance, the third-largest age group is 45 to 54: 16.6% of Facebook Messenger users in the US are of these ages, and 13.9% of are between 55 and 64 years old. This decreases further to 13.5% for those 65 aged and above.
Young adults, those aged 18 to 24, make up 10.4% of Facebook Messenger users in the US. By far, the smallest age group is 13 to 17. Only a tiny 1.2% of users in the US fall in this age category.