What Percentage of the Population Uses Social Media? (2018–2027)
Recent data on social media usage shows the number of social media users worldwide is set to hit 4.89 billion in 2023. But what proportion of the world does that constitute? In other words, what percentage of the population uses social media?
Here’s a look at the social media penetration rate in recent years and how it’s forecast to evolve.
What percentage of the population uses social media: 2018–2022
According to a study, the global social media penetration rate has increased over the past few years. In 2018, this number was 42%, which is to say that just over two out of every five people worldwide were active users of social media. This is defined as those who access a social network at least once a month.
In 2019, this rose by five percentage points, to 47%—the largest increase expected between 2018 and 2027. The following year saw the global social media penetration rate grow to 52%, which meant that more than half of the world’s population in 2020 used social media.
Annual growths of four percentage points each in 2021 and 2022 saw social media penetration rates rise to 56% and 60%, respectively.
What percentage of the population uses social media: 2023–2027
In 2023, just under two out of every three (64%) people worldwide are expected to be active social media users.
The social media penetration rate is set to continue rising over the next few years by two to three percentage points. By 2027, 74% of the global population is forecast to be social media users, which approximates to three out of every four people.
From 2018 to 2027, the percentage of the global population using social media is expected to rise by 32 percentage points overall.
Social media penetration rate: ranked by country
According to research ranking social media use by country, the United Arab Emirates has the highest penetration rate, with 105.5%. This is calculated by dividing the number of social media accounts in a country by its total population. Experts say the UAE’s social media penetration rate is due to the high number of duplicate and fake accounts.
This is followed by Bahrain and Qatar, with penetration rates of 98.7% and 96.8%, respectively. Brunei is next, with 94.4%, and South Korea rounds out the top five, with 92%.