Global social media usage in 2024
The total number of active social media users surpassed 5.0 billion in January 2024, equating to about 62.3 percent of the world’s population. This figure comes from a collaboration between We Are Social and Meltwater, with estimates provided by Kepios, a firm specializing in digital usage analytics. The organizations project a 5.6 percent rise in the user base during 2023, while the global population is expected to grow by about 0.9 percent.
Instagram and TikTok continue to hold the top spots in terms of user counts. Instagram remains the leading platform with roughly 1.65 billion users, followed by TikTok with about 1.56 billion users. The report also notes that Meta’s social network remains widely favored, based on internet users aged 16 to 64, and highlights its dominance as a platform during the year, even surpassing WhatsApp for certain engagement metrics.
Time spent online: daily and monthly patterns
Data from 2023 indicates that people spend about 6 hours and 40 minutes online each day, a 1 percent increase from the previous year. Roughly half of these users say they stay connected with family and friends online, while others list activities such as leisurely scrolling, consuming news, and discovering new content as primary reasons for their time online.
For Android users, TikTok accounts for the highest average time per user, reaching about 34 hours per month, which averages to more than an hour per day across all devices. YouTube ranks second, with just over 28 hours per month for the average user.
Even with a modest uptick in daily online time, the study finds that many populations are watching less traditional television. The typical internet user watched 17 fewer minutes of TV content per day in 2023, a decline of approximately 8.2 percent.
Offline populations and gaps in internet access
Despite the immense active-user base, approximately 2.7 billion people around the world remain without internet access. Among these, about 680 million are in India, making it one of the most disconnected large nations, followed closely by China, Pakistan, and Nigeria.
Urban centers in several regions show pronounced connectivity gaps as well. African countries continue to struggle with disconnection rates exceeding 50 percent in many cities, while North Korea also experiences substantial limitations on internet access.
However, the report acknowledges a degree of uncertainty stemming from factors such as automated accounts and individuals using multiple identities, which can influence the precision of certain metrics.
These insights illustrate how global connectivity is progressing, while also highlighting persistent disparities in access and usage patterns across different regions and demographics. The findings underscore the continued growth of social media platforms, the shifts in average time spent online, and the ongoing challenge of achieving universal internet connectivity.