The social media application launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg is now at the head of an internet empire that counts tens of billions of dollars in revenue, a group consisting of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, among others.
The Facebook application was originally a student directory called “Thefacebook.” This social media platform has gradually become a giant with billions of unique visitors and users over time, being part of what is called the Big Four or GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon).
The wealth of user data available is a way for the company to continue to increase its growth, both in terms of features and revenue.
In the world of social media networks, Facebook gets impressive numbers worldwide, coming out on top of other social media platforms.
However, this means of communication is losing ground with people in younger audiences: social networks like Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube are upsetting this premier application’s business.
What are the company’s worldwide statistics involving revenue, usage, and more? Take a look at the 2024 data to know everything about the upcoming trends for this social media platform.
Table of contents
- A bit of Facebook history
- Global Facebook statistics
- How many active users are on Facebook?
- What country has the most Facebook users?
- What are the age and gender demographics of Facebook users?
- What are the most followed Facebook pages worldwide?
- What is the engagement on Facebook on the international market?
- What is the value of videos on Facebook?
- What role do brands and companies play on Facebook?
- What are the statistics for Facebook Messenger?
- What is Facebook's annual revenue?
- What is the importance of knowing global Facebook statistics?
A bit of Facebook history
Facebook is one of the world's most popular and influential social networks, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users. But the history of Facebook goes back long before its creation in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, then a student at Harvard.
In 2003, Zuckerberg created a site called "Facemash", where users could compare the beauty of two students using their profile photos. Although this was considered immoral, it gave Zuckerberg an idea: to create a social network that would enable people to connect with each other in a more meaningful and authentic way.
And so Facebook was born. On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched the website "Thefacebook.com". The site quickly gained popularity with Harvard students and soon spread to other universities.
In 2005, the name was changed to Facebook, and the site became accessible to the general public. Features were enhanced and new ones added over the years, including instant messaging options, games and third-party applications.
Facebook quickly became a global phenomenon, with billions of monthly active users. The site also acquired other companies, including Instagram and WhatsApp, expanding its reach and impact.
In 2021, Facebook announced it would change its name to Meta, reflecting its ambition to become a major player in virtual and augmented reality. Meta's most ambitious project to date is the Metaverse, a virtual world where users can interact in digital environments in real time. With exciting innovations to come, Meta promises to remain a major player in technology and communication for the future.
Facebook (Meta): Key global statistics
Who visits Facebook worldwide? What type of content is most popular? What are the key statistics for 2024? What is the average number of monthly visits to the most popular Facebook pages? How do Facebook usage statistics vary by account, country, quarter or month? What are Facebook's annual advertising revenues? Let's take a look at the latest figures!
How many active users are on Facebook?
According to Statista, there are over 3 billion monthly active users on Facebook as of January 2024. In terms of number of monthly users, Facebook is the world's most popular social network, followed by YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
Source: Statista
In addition, approximately 2.25 billion users are likely to be reached by advertising on the social network as of April 2023, based on a DataReportal study. This represents an increase of about 5% from the app's potential audience reach of ads in April 2022.
Source: DataReportal
What country has the most Facebook users?
Statista also notes that, as of January 2024, the countries with the highest number of Facebook users are India with approximately 366.9 million profiles, followed by the US with 190.9 million, and Indonesia with 117.6 million.
Source: Statista
According to Statista data, as of January 2022, the region with the highest concentration of the population using Facebook is North America, with 82.3% of the region using the app. This is followed by followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, with a usage rate of 77.8%, and Europe, with a usage rate of 67.6%.
In 2022, according to Mobile Magazine, Facebook was the eighth most downloaded mobile application in the world, behind Tiktok, Instagram, WhatsApp, CapCut, Snapchat, Telegram, and Subway Surfers.
We also learn that the trend is towards mobile: according to We Are Social x Hootsuite, 96% of the social media platform's active users use it on mobile, compared with 3.9% on the computer.
Last but not least, engagement on Facebook is much lower than for other social media networks: the We Are Social x Meltwater study puts the engagement rate for general accounts at 0.2% and for posts at 7.7% in 2023. Also, publications containing links will receive less engagement than photo or video posts.
Who are Facebook’s users?
What are the age and gender demographics of Facebook users?
According to a study conducted by Statista, as of January 2024, around 57% of users are women compared to 43% men.
The age group with the highest audience share is users aged 25–34 (12.7% of female and 18.3% of male users). The 18–24 age group follows (9.5% of female and 13.7% of male users), before the 35–44 age group (8.6% of female and 11.5% of male users).
Source: Statista
Facebook has become a primary source of information for many people. In the United States, 45% of Americans use Facebook as their top source of information.
The 2021 Alexa/SimilarWeb study found that Facebook is the #1 social media network in 154 countries out of 167 countries surveyed.
Finally, what is the average user doing on the social media platform?
According to Statista’s 2019 U.S. study, 88% of active visitors say they use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, 33% for entertainment, 23% for information, 17% to follow brands or businesses, 11% to build their professional network, and 6% for other reasons.
What are the most followed Facebook pages worldwide?
Influencers have taken over all social networks, and Facebook is no exception to this rule. In the list of the most followed pages in the world, we find many public figures and brands using the platform to connect with their audience.
As of March 2024, here are the number of followers for the top Facebook pages across the globe:
- Facebook: 214.6 million
- Cristiano Ronaldo: 169.5 million
- Samsung: 161.9 million
- Mr Bean: 141 million
- Shakira: 124.2 million
- CGTN: 121.6 million
- Leo Messi: 116.8 million
- Will Smith: 116.5 million
- Real Madrid: 114.4 million
- China Daily: 112.1 million
We can see that with the number of brands and organizations present in this global ranking, Facebook represents a real opportunity for advertising and marketing, a chance for businesses to connect with people around the world. It’s no wonder that in the year 2018, 98% of B2C companies had a page on Facebook, according to Hootsuite!
And with the popularity of public personalities on the internet, it's easy to see why Facebook allows content creators to invest in this social network. According to the Reech 2024 study, Facebook is the fourth most popular social network for influencers.
What is the engagement on Facebook on the international market?
According to the 2022 Hootsuite x We Are Social study, the important information turns to engagement and reach.
The posts that will reach internet users, reach, reaches 5.17% organically, while Paid Reach, advertising and paid, will reach 28.1%.
In terms of engagement, the average rate for a Facebook post in all formats is 3.39%, 1.44% for a message, 2.72% for a link, 4.42% for photos, and 6.09% for a video.
What's the value of videos on Facebook?
According to HubSpot, in 2022, more than 1.2 billion Facebook users watch videos via Watch per month. 85% of users watch videos without sound.
In 2021, videos between 2 and 5 minutes gained and generated the most engagement on the social media platform, based on data from Social Insider.
What's more, Digimind reports that 49% of marketing professionals use native videos to reach people on Facebook, just behind YouTube for 55% of them.
For the Facebook audience, video remains the preferred format for brands, for 81% of companies, according to Buffer. This can be explained by trends in news and content consumption on mobile devices, which has become essential internationally. Video is the trend, and it's not going to go away any time soon, either natively or in advertising, and on all active social networks!
What role do brands and companies play on Facebook?
Despite the ageing Facebook audience, brands and companies have invested and continue to invest in the social network to promote their products and services.
With more than a million stores on "Shops," social commerce is proving very popular, as is the Facebook Marketplace, which welcomes both private and professional sellers.
Based on statistics shared by Hootsuite, 37% of Facebook users are expected to make a purchase on the platform in 2023.
Facebook is now the leading social commerce platform, on par with TikTok (37% in 2023), just ahead of Instagram (35% in 2023).
Note: As of April 2024 in the US, merchants with stores on Instagram and Facebook are obliged to offer payment directly on social networks to their customers, or risk having their merchant account deleted.
What are the statistics for Facebook Messenger?
Facebook's instant messaging service has made a name for itself in the world of chat. Active Facebook users can't turn away from this messaging app, which is almost as powerful as Whatsapp.
According to Statista, the Messenger messaging application boasts 1.036 million users worldwide, making it the 7th most-used application after Whatsapp and WeChat in 2023.
At the professional level, according to Facebook Business, more than 40 million businesses use Messenger. More than 300,000 chatbots are active on Facebook Messenger.
For customer service, Facebook instant messaging appeals to 64% of online shoppers, who prefer to seek help from the company via this channel rather than calling or emailing.
What is Facebook's annual revenue?
The year 2024 is sure to set a new record for Facebook stats.
According to Statista, Facebook's advertising revenue is expected to reach $170.82 billion in 2024, corresponding to an increase of 11.1% for revenue earned in 2023.
For the fourth year running, Facebook will exceed $100 billion in advertising revenue.
This figure should exceed $200 billion in 2026, based on Statista projections.
What is the importance of knowing global Facebook statistics?
Facebook, as the world's most popular social network with over 3 billion monthly active users, offers fertile ground for marketing. These users represent a wealth of valuable statistical information for companies. Thanks to this data, companies can gain premium insights into consumer trends and behaviors.
Each Facebook statistic enables companies to determine the geographic areas and demographics where the network is most widely used. This premium knowledge of Facebook users is important for effective marketing targeting: understanding Facebook users in terms of age group, gender and location is valuable content for marketing strategies.
Analyzing every statistic related to Facebook advertising campaigns enables companies to assess the effectiveness of their campaigns in terms of engagement and conversion rates. Every statistic is key content for refining marketing strategies!
And to optimize your presence on Facebook, we recommend the use of detailed infographics. These premium-quality marketing tools highlight the most effective content formats on Facebook, such as photos and videos. These formats are important for increasing the reach of your posts, reaching the right audience on Facebook, and potentially boosting your sales. These strategies and tools are essential for maximizing the impact of your marketing content on Facebook.
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