It’s also an increase of 366 million people (or nine percent) since 2018, with more than one million people coming online for the first time each day over the last year. But what does that mean for social media? We’ll explore all of the key trends and insights from this year’s reports below, but here are the essential headlines you need in order to understand ‘Digital in 2019’: There are 3.48 billion social media users in 2019, up 9% year-on-year 3.26 billion people use social media on mobile devices in January 2019, up 10% year-on-year There are 4.39 billion internet users in 2019, up 9% year-on-year There are 5.11 billion unique mobile users in the world today, up 2% year-on-year A big thank you to the data partners who contributed to this year’s reports, including: Our full suite of Digital 2019 reports includes extensive insights into people’s use of the world’s top social platforms in more than 230+ countries and territories around the world. 45% of the world uses social media Worldwide social media user numbers have grown to almost 3.5 billion at the start of 2019, with 288 million new users in the past 12 months pushing the global penetration figure to 45 percent. The number of social media users around the world at the start of 2019 equates to roughly 58 percent of the total ‘eligible population’, but this figure rises to more than 70 percent in almost 100 countries around the world. Even when adjusted for age, social media penetration in many parts of the developing world still lags below 30 percent, and 16 countries around the world still register less than 10 percent eligible penetration. China added the greatest number of new social media users over the past 12 months, with the country’s total rising by close to 100 million new users since this time last year. Most social media users are around the age of 30 The global social media audience has matured considerably over the last five years, with people around the age of 30 now accounting for the largest share of the world’s social media users. Facebook is still the top social media platform in 2019 Despite a troubling year in 2018, Facebook maintains its top platform ranking in early 2019, and people don’t seem to be leaving the platform in any significant numbers. We’ve highlighted a small selection of interesting social media data for this post, but it only represents a sliver of the data you’ll find in the complete suite of 2019 Global Digital reports—which analyzes all the individual social platforms in detail.
This is an edited version of Simon’s complete Digital 2019 analysis, which you can read in full over on DataReportal.
The new 2019 Global Digital suite of reports from We Are Social and Hootsuite reveals that there are now 4.39 billion people around the world using the internet.
That’s well over half the world’s population. It’s also an increase of 366 million people (or nine percent) since 2018, with more than one million people coming online for the first time each day over the last year.
But what does that mean for social media?
With more people online than ever, there’s also more people on social media than ever—3.48 billion to be exact. And more than 9 out of 10 of those people access social media via a mobile device.
We’ll explore all of the key trends and insights from this year’s reports below, but here are the essential headlines you need in order to understand ‘Digital in 2019’:
- There are 3.48 billion social media users in 2019, up 9% year-on-year
- 3.26 billion people use social media on mobile devices in January 2019, up 10% year-on-year
- There are 4.39 billion internet users in 2019, up 9% year-on-year
- There are 5.11 billion unique mobile users in the world today, up 2% year-on-year
A big thank you to the data partners who contributed to this year’s reports, including:
Our full suite of Digital 2019 reports includes extensive insights into people’s use of the world’s top social platforms in more than 230+ countries and territories around the world.
For now, here are the highlights.
45% of the world uses social media
Worldwide social media user numbers have grown to almost 3.5 billion at the start of 2019, with 288 million new users in the past 12 months pushing the global penetration figure to 45 percent.
Social media use is still far from evenly distributed across the globe though, and penetration rates in parts of Africa are still in the single digits.
Countries in the Middle East top the social media penetration rankings, with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar tied for top spot.
Most social media platforms prohibit use by children. So, we’ve also analyzed what we’re terming ‘eligible penetration’—i.e. social media use amongst adults aged 13 and above—to get a more accurate idea of social media’s global penetration.
The number of social media users around the world at the start of 2019 equates to roughly 58 percent of the total ‘eligible population’, but this figure rises to more than 70 percent in almost 100 countries around the world.
Even when adjusted for age, social media penetration in many parts of the developing world still lags below 30 percent, and 16 countries around the world still register less than 10 percent eligible penetration.
Cuba and Ethiopia have witnessed strong social media growth this…
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