Facebook has been subject to aggressive competition, however still stands as a powerful player in the space, its parent company Meta has moved to take more market share of social media consumption with its acquisition of Instagram in 2021 for 1 billion dollars. The platform still boasts millions of daily users, and huge amounts of advertisers choose the Meta network to advertise their products and services. Platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat have proven fierce competition, however, different platforms tend to attract different types of users.
We've comprised our top stats, insights, trends, facts and statements all about Facebook, its usage, growth, population, internet users, news, demographics and how marketers use the platform too! We sure have all the facts, figures and numbers, so let's dive into our top Facebook statistics!
What is Facebook?
Facebook is a social media platform that can be accessed via desktop and mobile browsers and also dedicated IOS and Android apps too. The platform allows its users to sign up for free profiles, and build connections with friends online. You can then upload pictures, share status updates and discuss in forums of shared interests. The platform also has an instant messaging feature called Facebook Messenger allowing users to chat in real time. The platform has developed to have additional features such as shopping channels and games. Facebook monetise its users with ads that are displayed around the platform amongst the content shared by connections. The platform's strategy has always been to provide valuable content to engage it's users whilst showing photo and video ads to viewers to monetise it's product and source ad revenue. The platform has different ways to deliver content including posts, stories, video posts and messages too. Advertisers can use different campaigns and advertising tools to deliver their advertising strategies to consumers in different groups based on likes, dislikes, previous website visits and also leveraging Facebook's audience finding algorithm. Facebook was one of the original social media platforms and grew in huge popularity with everyone posting status posts, photos and life updates. It's highly competitive now for Facebook to stay relevant as new platforms emerge.
Facebook Business Statistics
Facebook has grown incredibly fast since it was founded in 2004 and has served billions of people. The business has been highly successful and ranked one of the largest companies in the world. Let's dive into the statistics about Facebook's business as a whole, and whether you should consider investing into the platform to grow your company.
1. In 2023, Meta generated a revenue of over 134 billion dollars
In 2024, the combined revenue of Meta's platforms including Facebook reached over 134 billion U.S. dollars, which is an increase from 119 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The majority of this revenue originates from advertisers spending to show content to target audiences on the platform. The user count on the Meta platforms continues to grow creating more opportunities for advertisers to reach their customers.
(Statista - Meta: annual revenue and net income 2007-2023)
2. Meta spent just over 2 billion on advertising costs in 2023.
In 2023, Meta spent over 2 billion U.S. dollars on advertising expenses, down from 2.6 billion in 2022 and 2.9 billion U.S. dollars spent in 2021. Whilst it's not clear why Meta has reduced its marketing spend, it may be following their focus on AR technologies.
(Statista - Meta annual ad spend 2014-2023)
3. Meta's founder is the 7th richest billionaire from internet services in the world.
As of September 2023, Meta's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was the world's seventh richest internet billionaire, with an estimated net worth of 64.4 billion U.S. dollars. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was the world's richest internet billionaire with an estimated net worth of 114 billion U.S. dollars. The chief technology officer of the computer software company Oracle, Larry Ellison, ranked second, with a fortune of 107 billion U.S. dollars. Bill Gates, the co-founder of tech giant Microsoft, ranked third in the ranking of internet billionaires, with a net worth of 104 billion U.S. dollars.
(Statista - Net worth of the richest internet billionaires 2023)
4. Facebook is the world's most popular social media platform with over 3 million active users a day.
As of April 2024, Facebook is the world's most popular social media platform with over 3 million active users on its platform every day. Facebook was also the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts. The parent of Facebook, Meta, also owns Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Facebook which all hit the leaderboard for the most daily active users.
(Statista - Most Popular Social Networks)
5. Facebook is the eighth most valuable brand in the world.
In 2024, Facebook was ranked the eighth most valuable brand in the world with an estimated brand value of 75.7 billion U.S. dollars. Apple ranks the world's most valuable brand with an estimated brand value of about 516.6 billion U.S. followed by Amazon who boast a brand value of 308.9 billion dollars.
(Statista - Most valuable brands worldwide 2024)
6. Facebook generates 134.9 billion dollars a year.
In 2023, Facebook generated a whopping 134.9 billion U.S. dollars ranking it 4th in leading internet companies ranked by revenue. Alphabet (formerly Google) generated 307.39 billion U.S. dollars landing it third place, followed by Amazon and Apple. Amazon ranked first with over 574.78 billion U.S. dollars in annual revenues, up from 513.98 billion U.S. dollars in the previous year.
(Statista - Internet companies ranked by revenue 2017-2023)
Facebook Usage Statistics
Facebook has the highest number of active daily users compared with any other social media platform, making it a true power house among global players of social media. What's more, Meta owns 3 other platforms that rank within the highest-used social media platforms including Instagram, Whatsapp & Facebook Messenger. So let's dive into the stats of how its users engage with Facebook as a platform.
7. Facebook was accessed by 65 per cent of mobile audiences in the United States in April 2024.
Facebook is widely used on mobile devices and its app has a huge global reach. In April 2024, Facebook was accessed by 64% of all mobile users in the United States. This statistic ranks the platform 3rd in terms of mobile audience reach. The YouTube mobile app ranked first with a 74 per cent audience reach and the email platform Gmail was accessed by 65% of mobile users ranking it second. Below facebook in mobile access reach, were Google Search app, Google Maps and Amazon mobile.
(Statista - Reach of most popular U.S. smartphone apps 2024)
8. Facebook's audience grew 3.1% year on year in January 2024.
Whilst Facebook is indeed the most popular social media platform in terms of active daily users, its growth trajectory does tell a slightly different story. In January 2024, Facebook's audience grew by 3.1% compared with January 2023. However, this did sit dramatically lower than its competitors with Instagram seeing a 25% audience increase, Pinterest seeing a 23.2% increase and LinkedIn seeing a 13.9%. Whilst Facebook dominates the social media market, it's saturation needs to continue to ensure it does not get overtaken by other platforms.
(Statista - Global year-on-year social media audience growth 2024)
9. India is the largest audience size on Facebook by country.
Facebook has global domination for social media consumption in terms of users however there are some countries who use the platform more than others. India ranks the highest number of users by country with a whopping 378 million users. The United States follows second with 193.8 million users, in third is Indonesia with 119 million users and in fourth is Brazil with 112 million users. Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh & Thailand all follow with over 50 million users each.
(Statista - Countries with the most Facebook users 2024)
10. Google is the highest referer of traffic to Facebook.
Whilst it's true many users will simply head to their mobile devices and use the native Facebook app to access the social media network, other websites also play a role in referring online traffic to Facebook. Google ranks the highest refer of traffic to Facebook sending over 7% of all Facebook referral traffic, in second place is MSN.com referring 4.8% of referral traffic, in third place is linktr.ee referring 3.28%, in fourth place is internalfb and in fifth is Spotify. Remember that it won't all be just heading to the homepage of Facebook, it will include profiles, pages and links from businesses to their profiles.
(Statista - Web traffic referrers to Facebook.com 2024)
11. Facebook Page Engagement for posts was 0.06%..
As of November 2023, the average Facebook page fan engagement with posts on a page was 0.06 percent. Image posts drew the highest level of engagement from page fans, having an interaction rate of 0.1 percent. Furthermore, link posts saw the lowest engagement rate with 0.03 percent.
(Statista - Global Facebook pages fan engagement rate 2023, by type of post)
12. Teenagers are less likely to use Facebook now than they were 10 years ago
Whilst Facebook dominates the number of daily active users, the demographics amongst its users are changing. According to PEW Research Center, teenagers are less likely to use Facebook than they were a decade ago. Between 2014 and 2015 teenage users dropped from 71% to 33% however Facebook has become popular in older generations. However, the rise in other platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram may have impacted teenage usage as these platforms are widely used by teenagers.
(PEW Research Center - Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023)
13. Around 1 billion fake accounts are removed from Facebook every quarter.
Of course, with any successful tech company, there will be users and bots looking to exploit the platform and also other users. It's a never-ending battle for tech companies to identify spam users and remove them. Over the past few years, Facebook has removed between 0.5 to 1.5 billion fake accounts from its platform every quarter. The platform uses AI technology to identify unusual or unnatural patterns of behaviour such as comment, liking and engagement behaviour and also uses IP addresses to understand the user better. Meta considers fake accounts to be those that are created with malicious intent, or created to represent a business, organization, or non-human entity.
(Statista - Facebook: fake account removal as of Q4 2023)
14. The average engagement rate is less than 1%.
The average engagement rate for your posts will massively depend on the number of followers/connections you have, the type of content you are posting and also the time of day you share the content. Facebook does not show content in time order but instead shares content using its algorithm to show the most engaging content to those who are most likely to engage with it.
(Statista - Global Facebook pages fan engagement rate 2023, by type of post)
15. Image posts have the highest engagement on Facebook.
Facebook's company pages typically attract very low engagement rates, likely because Facebook wants companies to invest in its ads for exposure. However, images attract a higher engagement rate of around 0.12%.
(Hootsuite - Facebook Statistics
16. Link posts have the lowest engagement on Facebook.
Facebook's company pages typically attract very low engagement rates, likely because Facebook wants companies to invest in its ads for exposure. However, if you compare different types of posts then link posts perform even lower than images and have the lowest rate of engagement. Note videos typically perform well on Facebook.- of course depending on the video.
(Hootsuite - Facebook Statistics
Facebook Demographic Statistics
The demographics of Facebook's user base are diverse by age demographics, location, gender, values, culture, industries, religion, and political stand point. However, there are key demographics that are more prevalent amongst the platform and it's interesting to see how the platform has evolved for example fewer teenagers using the platform than when it began as a university social platform. Let's dive into some demographic statistics of the platform.
17. Facebook has 3 billion active users every month
As of Q4 in 2023, Facebook has over 3 billion active users every month making it the most used online social network on the planet! What's more, this figure is still growing quarter on quarter compared with 2.9 billion active users in Q4 of 2022. It took Facebook 13 years to reach this milestone, however, Instagram hit this in 11.2 and YouTube took 14 years to achieve this.
(Statista - Facebook: quarterly number of MAU (monthly active users) worldwide 2008-2023)
18. Facebook has 2.1 billion daily active users
During the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of daily active users on Facebook reached 2.1 billion, a minor increase on the previous quarter. When compared with the number of daily active users in the final quarter of 2022, the platform has gained around 100 million users. Facebook’s penetration rate for the United States in 2023 was 72.13 percent, up from 71.43 percent in 2022. The social network’s audience reach is projected to stand at 75.79 percent by 2027 - a significant jump in percentage.
(Statista - Facebook: number of daily active users worldwide 2011-2023)
19. 56.8% of Facebook users are male
As of January 2024, more than half (56.8%) of Facebook's audience identified as male. The context to this distribution is not known. It is important to note this data does not account for non-binary users.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by gender)
20. 43.2% of Facebook users are female
As of January 2024, less than half (43.2%) of Facebook's audience identified as male. The context to this distribution is not known. It is important to note this data does not account for non-binary users.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by gender)
21. 23% of Facebook users are aged between 18-24
As of April 2024, those aged between 18 and 24 made up 23% of Facebook's audience. This age bracket is the second largest age group among Facebook's users around the world. 9.5% of those were female and 13.5% of them were male. Whilst this is the second largest age segment, it should be noted that younger users are becoming less likely to use Facebook.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by age and gender)
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22. 31.1% of Facebook users are aged between 25-34
As of April 2024, those aged between 25 and 34 made up 31.1% of Facebook's audience. This age bracket is the largest age group among Facebook's users around the world. 12.7% of those were women and 18.4% of them were male. This might be the largest age bracket as Facebook was founded during the teenage years of these users. It will be interesting to see if the wave of founder users rides throughout the years.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by age and gender)
23. 20.2% of Facebook users are aged between 35-44
As of April 2024, those aged between 35 and 44 made up 20.2% of Facebook's audience. This age bracket is the third largest age group among Facebook's users around the world. 8.6% of those were female and 11.6% of them were male.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by age and gender)
24. 12% of Facebook users are aged between 45-54
As of April 2024, those aged between 45 and 54 made up 12% of Facebook's audience. This age bracket is the fourth largest age group among Facebook's users around the world. 5.5% of those were female and 6.5% of them were male.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by age and gender)
25. 7.6% of Facebook users are aged between 55-64
As of April 2024, those aged between 55 and 64 made up 7.6% of Facebook's audience. This age bracket is the second smallest age group among Facebook's users around the world. 3.8% of those were female and 3.8% of them were male. Interestingly, this is the only age bracket that has an even distribution of gender.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by age and gender)
26. 6.1% of Facebook users are aged over 65
As of April 2024, those aged over 65 made up 6.1% of Facebook's audience. This age bracket is the smallest age group among Facebook's users around the world. 3.2% of those were female and 2.9% of them were male. Interestingly, this is the only age bracket that has more females than males. This could be the smallest age bracket as technology has advanced significantly during the later years of those within this age group.
(Statista - Facebook: distribution of global audiences 2024, by age and gender)
27. Lower-income teens are more likely to use Facebook than teens from higher-earning families
Whilst we know that fewer teens are using Facebook, the PEW Research Center found that usage remains higher in teens that come from lower-income-holds. 45% of teens in lower-income households say they use facebook compared with 27% of those in higher-income households.
(PEW Research Center - Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023)
Facebook Advertising Statistics
Given that Facebook is the world's most popular social media network, it sure is also one of the best platforms to reach new customers. It's no wonder that Facebook acts as a powerful advertising platform for brands to advertise their products and services. Facebook's advertising revenue has continued to grow since it monetised its platform, let's dive into some Facebook Advertising Statistics.
28. 86% of marketers report using Facebook for marketing purposes.
Facebook is a great way to reach new and existing customers, and the Facebook algorithm uses machine learning to find customers who are most likely to be interested. The platform uses a bidding system to charge advertisers for clicks and impressions on adverts. You will also be charged for engagements such as likes, comments and views. During a 2024 survey among marketers worldwide, around 86 per cent reported using Facebook for marketing purposes. Instagram and LinkedIn followed with close second and third as they were mentioned by 79 and 65 per cent. 59% of the respondents said that they would increase their organic use of YouTube and LinkedIn too.
(Statista - Leading social media platforms used by marketers worldwide 2024)
29. 83% of marketers stated exposure is the main benefit of social media marketing.
During a 2024 survey of global marketers, around 83% stated that the main benefit of social media advertising is increased exposure, however, 73% said increased traffic and lastly 65% said social media is great for new leads. Social media advertising is a strong and powerful lever that brands can pull to maximise growth. Between 2019 and 2024, social media advertising spending skyrocketed by 140 per cent.
(Statista - Leading benefits of social media marketing according to marketers worldwide 2024)
30. Facebook is rated the most important social media platform for marketers worldwide.
Given that Facebook is the most used social media platform daily, it's no surprise that amongst a global survey of marketers, Facebook was rated the most important social media platform globally. Respondents also reported plans to increase YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram.
(Statista - Planned changes in use of selected social media for organic marketing worldwide 2024)
31. 29% of marketers stated Facebook has the highest return on investment.
29% of respondents from a survey in September 2023 of B2B and B2C marketers worldwide said that Facebook was the social media platform that had the highest return on investment. 29% of respondents also said the same about Instagram too. 26% of respondents ranked YouTube the best ROI platform and lastly, 24% said TikTok gave them the best return on investment.
(Statista - Social media platforms with highest ROI worldwide 2023)
32. The best time to post on Facebook is between 8:00 a.m. and noon, Tuesday or Thursday
According to the social media scheduling tool, Hootsuite, the best time of day to post on Facebook is between 8 am and noon on a Tuesday or a Thursday. Of course, this will depend on your industry, the type of content you are posting and your audience. It's always good to experiment with different times and record the results.
(Hootsuite - Best time to post)
Facebook Shopping Statistics
33. 37% of Facebook users will make a purchase on the platform in 2023
Social selling is growing very fast, meaning that social media platform users can buy products directly within the platform without the need to go to a separate website. Facebook has allowed brands to list products on their profiles and create Facebook shops for some time, however, it is predicted that other platforms will match the rate of social selling quickly.
(eMarketer - Social Buying Penetration)
34. 19% of US shoppers start their search on Facebook to find products.
According to eMarketer, 19% of US shoppers start their search on Facebook to find products. Facebook Marketplace has become a great place to find second-hand or even new products. The platform connects buyers and sellers and then allows those interest to chat instantly using Facebook Messenger. Buyers can make offers and arrange postage or collection details.
(eMarketer - Social Buying Penetration)
Conclusion: Top Facebook Statistics You Should Know!
So that's a wrap! You've read our Top 34 Facebook Statistics article covering key areas such as business growth, usage, demographics, advertising and Facebook Shopping. We've explored all the things we feel that marketers need to know to study whether Facebook is a strong platform for their business. As more social media platforms grow it's likely to have an impact to Facebook and Facebook will need to keep evolving and developing to maintain its place as the most popular social media network. It's clear Facebook is a social medi agiant and will need to keep changing to stay current in the social media landscape, however it's likely to remain a staple for a while for users to find new products, communicate with their connections and continue news consumption. It's likely you already have Facebook in your marketing strategy, however there are always ways to optimise and grow your social media strategy online.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many monthly active users does Facebook have?
As of Q4 in 2023, Facebook has over 3 billion active users every month making it the most used online social network on the planet! What's more, this figure is still growing quarter on quarter compared with 2.9 billion active users in Q4 of 2022. It took Facebook 13 years to reach this milestone, however, Instagram hit this in 11.2 and YouTube took 14 years to achieve this.
How has Facebook's user base grown in 2024?
Facebook was the second slowest grower amongst it's competitors as it grew around 3% compared to January 2023. Other platforms however don't have as many users meaning they can grow at a much faster rate. There is an argument that growth will slow as market saturation is achieved.
How effective are video ads on Facebook?
Video ads can be a great way to engage more customers with some stats showing that video content creates 1200% more shares than text or images alone. Other platforms such as TikTok have capitalised on the power of short-form video content therefore a similar psychology can be applied to Facebook.
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Nic Dunn |
CEO - Charle Agency
Bespoke Shopify Plus Websites