Facebook is one of the largest and most popular social media platforms in the world. As of October 2022, Facebook has over 2.93 billion monthly active users worldwide. This makes Facebook the biggest social network globally in terms of user base.
Quick Answer
As of October 2022, there are over 2.93 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide.
Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg along with fellow Harvard students. What started as a platform for college students to connect with each other has now become a global phenomenon used by people of all ages and demographics. Facebook allows users to create personal profiles, share photos and videos, communicate with friends and family, join interest-based groups, and much more.
Over the years, Facebook has acquired other popular social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp. However, Facebook itself remains the company’s flagship product. The Facebook website and mobile app have become deeply embedded into the daily internet habits of billions of users across the globe.
Facebook’s massive user base is one of its greatest assets and makes it attractive to marketers and advertisers. But it also presents challenges in terms of privacy, misinformation, and other issues inherent to such a large online community. Understanding how many users actively use Facebook can provide insight into the platform’s current position and future trajectory.
Growth of Facebook Users Over the Years
When Facebook first launched in 2004, it was only available to Harvard students. By the end of 2004, Facebook had 1 million users. Over the next few years, Facebook began expanding to other colleges and universities. By September 2006, anyone over 13 years old with a valid email address could sign up for Facebook. At that point, Facebook had 12 million users.
User growth accelerated rapidly starting in 2008. By April 2008, Facebook had 100 million active users. Just five months later, active users surpassed 150 million. In July 2010, the number reached 500 million. Facebook achieved 1 billion monthly active users in October 2012.
The growth continued over the following years, reaching 1.5 billion users in 2015, 2 billion users in 2017, and 2.5 billion users in 2019. As of the fourth quarter of 2022, Facebook has 2.96 billion monthly active users.
This represents a year-over-year growth rate of 2% from 2.91 billion users in Q4 2021. While growth has slowed in recent years, Facebook continues adding tens of millions of users annually. Much of this growth comes from developing countries where internet access and smartphone adoption are increasing.
Key Facebook User Milestones
| Date | Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| October 2022 | 2.93 billion |
| September 2021 | 2.91 billion |
| June 2017 | 2 billion |
| August 2015 | 1.5 billion |
| October 2012 | 1 billion |
| July 2010 | 500 million |
| April 2008 | 100 million |
| September 2006 | 12 million |
| December 2004 | 1 million |
Geographical Breakdown of Facebook Users
While Facebook has users across the entire globe, the vast majority come from a handful of countries and regions.
As of October 2022, the top 5 countries by number of Facebook users are:
- India – 450 million users
- Indonesia – 190 million users
- USA – 190 million users
- Brazil – 170 million users
- Philippines – 110 million users
India alone accounts for over 15% of total Facebook users. Developing countries in Asia and Latin America make up a sizable percentage. This is due to rapidly growing internet connectivity and smartphone adoption in these regions.
The United States still represents one of Facebook’s largest markets with 190 million total users. However, user growth has stagnated compared to developing countries. Other developed countries like Japan, Germany, and France each have between 30-50 million Facebook users.
Facebook usage skews younger in developed countries, with most users under the age of 35. In developing countries, usage is spread more evenly across age groups as internet newcomers first start engaging with the platform.
Facebook Users by Region
| Region | Total Users | Percentage of Users |
|---|---|---|
| Asia Pacific | 1.2 billion | 41% |
| Europe | 380 million | 13% |
| North America | 260 million | 9% |
| Latin America | 310 million | 10% |
| Middle East and Africa | 280 million | 10% |
| Rest of World | 490 million | 17% |
Demographics of Facebook Users
In its early days, Facebook was dominated by users between the ages of 18-34. This demographic remains important, but users under 18 and over 55 now make up increasing proportions of the total user base.
Some key facts about Facebook user demographics:
- 32% of users are between 18-24 years old
- 27% of users are between 25-34 years old
- 20% of users are between 35-54 years old
- 11% of users are 55 years or older
- 10% of users are under 18 years old
Worldwide, 44% of Facebook users are female and 56% are male. However, the gender breakdown varies significantly by country and region. For example, women make up a higher percentage of Facebook users in North America and Europe.
Facebook users also represent a diverse range of income levels and educational backgrounds. 15% of adult Facebook users do not have a high school diploma. 35% have only a high school diploma. 47% have some college education or a bachelor’s degree. The remaining have done postgraduate work.
Daily and Monthly Active Users
In addition to monthly active users (MAUs), Facebook also reports daily active users (DAUs). DAUs represent the number of users who logged into Facebook on a given calendar day. MAUs are the number of unique users active at least once in the past 30 days.
As of Q3 2022, Facebook has 1.98 billion DAUs and 2.96 billion MAUs worldwide. In other words, around two-thirds of monthly users log into their Facebook account on any given day.
Both DAUs and MAUs increased slightly from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022. DAUs were up 4% year-over-year. MAUs increased 2% over the same period.
The gap between DAUs and MAUs is larger in developing countries. In the Asia Pacific region, for example, MAUs are nearly double DAUs. This suggests less frequent overall usage among some user demographics.
But in North America and Europe, DAUs are nearly on par with MAUs. Over 80% of North American MAUs are logging into Facebook daily. This points to Facebook’s entrenchment as a daily habit and utility among Western users.
Facebook Daily Active Users vs. Monthly Active Users by Region (Q3 2022)
| Region | DAUs | MAUs | DAU/MAU Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Pacific | 572 million | 1.17 billion | 49% |
| Europe | 305 million | 342 million | 89% |
| North America | 197 million | 239 million | 82% |
| Rest of World | 903 million | 1.21 billion | 75% |
Motivations for Using Facebook
What brings in and retains over 2.9 billion users on Facebook every month? There are several key motivations and needs met by using the platform:
- Staying connected with friends and family – Facebook provides an easy way to stay in touch with acquaintances, relatives, and loved ones around the world.
- Photo and video sharing – Users can share visual highlights from life events both big and small.
- Discover entertaining and engaging content – The News Feed algorithm surfaces popular, funny, and informative posts from connections and followed pages.
- Join special interest groups and communities – Group members can bond over shared hobbies, passions, affiliations, and experiences.
- Events and event planning – Facebook Events makes coordinating get-togethers and meetups simple.
- Local updates and recommendations – Pages and local news outlets provide information about nearby happenings and hotspots.
For many, checking Facebook just becomes part of their daily routine. It’s a convenient one-stop shop for nurturing personal connections and consuming engaging content.
How Facebook Makes Money
Facebook generates virtually all of its revenue from advertising. In 2021, Facebook earned $117 billion in total ad revenue. This was a 37% year-over-year increase driven partially by the economic recovery from COVID-19 impacts.
Advertising on Facebook and Instagram takes multiple forms:
- Display ads – Banner ads shown in the Facebook and Instagram feeds, stories, and other placements.
- Video ads – Video ads similar to displays ads that autoplay in-feed or in Stories.
- Instant Experience ads – Interactive ads that allow previewing content from an advertiser’s website without leaving the app.
- Stories ads – Full-screen, vertical ads shown between stories from friends and creators.
- Search ads – Text ads displayed in search results on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook offers a robust advertising platform for businesses looking to reach specific demographics and optimize ad performance. Advanced targeting options allow narrowing down campaigns to geographic areas, age ranges, interests, behaviors and more. Facebook ad analytics provide transparency into metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions.
The vast amount of data Facebook has on user behavior and connections powers its ad targeting capabilities. And Facebook’s massive scale means businesses big and small turn to it as an essential advertising channel for reaching large global audiences.
Challenges for the Future
Maintaining user growth will pose challenges for Facebook moving forward for several reasons:
- Saturation in some markets – Pew Research found that 72% of American adults already use Facebook.
- Declining interest among teens and young adults – Younger demographics are shifting to newer platforms like TikTok.
- Ongoing PR crises – Privacy issues, content moderation problems, and other controversies have damaged Facebook’s reputation.
- Increasing competition – Apps like TikTok, Snapchat, Discord and others compete for user attention spans and engagement.
However, Facebook is still growing users at a modest pace thanks to expansion in the developing world. The company is also working to attract younger users again and rebuild its reputation through transparency efforts. And Facebook owns other popular services like Instagram and WhatsApp that provide additional engagement and monetization streams.
While the hypergrowth days are likely over, Facebook remains well-positioned to maintain its status as the dominant social media platform even in the face of the challenges ahead.
Conclusion
Facebook user statistics provide insight into its massive scale, impressive growth journey, demographics, and patterns of usage. Key takeaways include:
- Facebook recently surpassed 2.93 billion monthly active users globally.
- Growth over the last 18 years has been exponential, with the platform continually adding millions of new users.
- India, Indonesia, the United States, Brazil, and the Philippines represent Facebook’s largest countries.
- 66% of monthly active users log in daily to access content and connect with others.
- Advertising to Facebook’s huge audiences drives $117 billion in annual revenue.
Facebook’s unprecedented user base makes it one of the most influential products in history. It will face challenges maintaining this scale, but the platform remains essential to billions around the world for connection and expression.