Over the past four years, more than 1.3 billion people worldwide have joined social media to connect with others, keep in touch with the latest trends, and promote business. Today, social media platforms have close to 4.9 billion users, expected to grow by 25% in the following years.
According to data from OnlyAccounts.io, social media platforms are forecasted to reach more than six billion users and a vast 75% penetration rate by 2028.
A Decade of Unstoppable User Growth
Social media has grown tremendously in recent years, becoming an inevitable part of everyday life for billions worldwide. The Statista data show just how significant that growth was.
Back in 2019, roughly 3.5 billion people used social media platforms. This figure swelled to nearly 4.9 billion in just five years, with an average of 350 million people joining the social media space each year.
Statista expects the entire market to see a decade of continuous user growth, but the growth rates will slow. Social media users are expected to increase by 304 million in 2023, significantly less than 395 million new users reported in 2020.
Statistics show 2024, 2025, and 2026 will see an average of 250 million unique users. By 2028, the annual user growth is expected to drop to 183 million.
But despite slowing growth rates, the social media space will see more than 1.1 billion new users in five years. The global penetration rate will rise from 63.7% to 75.3%.
Instagram to Become the Fastest-Growing Social Media Platform
Although Facebook and TikTok convincingly lead in the number of users, Instagram will see much more significant user growth in the following years. Statista expects Instagram to dethrone TikTok and become the fastest-growing social media platform in the next four years.
In 2023, the photo and video-sharing social networking app hit 1.33 billion users, 86 million more than a year ago. By 2027, the number of people using Instagram is expected to grow by 17.2% and hit 1.56 billion, making one-fifth of the global social media user count.
TikTok is expected to see a 17% user growth in this period, with its user count reaching over 2.2 billion. Facebook will see the smallest increase among the top three platforms at 14%, with its user base going to 3.1 billion people by 2027.
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