No one needs an introduction to Facebook, but many people would be surprised to know that even though it feels like it was always there, it is just 20 years old as of 2024.
Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, initially to be used by only his college students. Gradually, its membership expanded to other universities in the United States, and today, It has the third-highest traffic in the world.
How and Why is Facebook So Popular?
People heard of social media in the early 2000s, But in 2004, this term got a boost and was on everyone’s mind.
You can now gather that we are talking about Facebook’s launch in 2004 and how its launch prompted people to use the term “social media” more
- Large User Base
Fast forward to 2024, Facebook is still the world’s most popular social media platform.
- It is used by 3.05 billion people (monthly) all over the world. This means that 3.05 million out of 8.2 billion people are on Facebook. In other words, almost 38% of the world’s population is on Facebook (monthly).
- As of the last quarter of 2023 the number of daily active Facebook users was 2.1 billion i.e. 25.60 % of the world’s population.
2. Diverse Age Groups
It is a perception that most young people use social media platforms, but that is not entirely true in the case of Facebook, as the demography of Facebook is varied.
As per a report from Statista, approximately,
- 42% of Americans aged 18-34
- 34% of American adults aged 35-54
- 24% of the American adults aged 55 +, liked using Facebook
- Easier to Use
Facebook has a simple interface and easy-to-understand commands. Most importantly, it has combined your friend circle and entertainment feed.
Its mobile apps like Facebook lite, messenger, and Meta are very smooth and lightweight on devices and get installed or uninstalled easily.
- Constant Upgrades & Addition
Even though Facebook is the oldest platform in the race, it has surpassed every other platform as it has been constantly upgrading itself and making itself bigger.
- AI & VR integrations
- Purchase of other major platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram
- Facebook Page and Facebook Ads Platforms
Let Us Check The Popularity Of Facebook
1. By Region
| Region Active Facebook Users (millions) Southern Asia 496.3 Southeastern Asia 415.2 Southern America 261.2 Northern America 208.6 Central America 121.0 Western Asia 111.1 Northern Africa 107.1 Western Europe 80.8 Southern Europe 73.2 Western Africa 66.1 Eastern Europe 63.0 Northern Europe 58.4 Eastern Asia 50.7 Eastern Africa 46.4 Southern Africa 29.9 Oceania 22.2 Middle Africa 18.9 The Caribbean 13.5 Central Asia 5.8 |
2. By Time Spent
On average, a person spends 30.9 minutes on Facebook, which is one of the most Time spent on any platform. (Source- eMarketer.)
Maximum Time spent by users aged 55 to 64, i.e., 45 Minutes
| Age Group | Average Time (minutes) |
| 18 to 24 years | 22 |
| 25 to 34 years | 26 |
| 35 to 44 years | 30 |
| 45 to 54 years | 36 |
| 55 to 64 years | 45 |
| Over 65 years | 34 |
3. By Age
The most significant number of Facebook users are in the 25 to 34-year-old age bracket, which is also supposed to be the most active group in spending money online. (Source – Grab on)
| Age Group | Number of Users (billions) |
| 25 to 34 years | 1.01 |
| 18 to 24 years | 0.727 |
| 35 to 44 years | 0.671 |
| 45 to 54 years | 0.405 |
| 55 to 64 years | 0.263 |
| 65 and older | 0.211 |
4. By Gender
Males are more active on Facebook than females, contributing to 56.8% of Facebook users. While the female percentage is 43.2%. (source-demandsage)
| Age Group | Share of Female Users | Share of Male Users |
| 18 to 24 years | 9.5% | 13.5% |
| 25 to 34 years | 12.7% | 18.4% |
| 35 to 44 years | 8.6% | 11.6% |
| 45 to 54 years | 5.5% | 6.5% |
| 55 to 64 years | 3.8% | 3.8% |
| Over 65 years | 3.2% | 2.9% |
5.By Country
Indian users love Facebook the most, becoming a preferable target for businesses that run ads. As a young country, India loves to spend more online, so many small and medium enterprises run ads for Indian audiences.
(source – Statista)
| Country | Facebook Audience (in millions) |
| India | 378.05 |
| United States | 193.8 |
| Indonesia | 119.05 |
| Brazil | 112.55 |
| Mexico | 92.7 |
| Philippines | 87.7 |
| Vietnam | 75.3 |
| Bangladesh | 55.6 |
| Thailand | 50.05 |
| Pakistan | 47.35 |
| Egypt | 46.25 |
| Nigeria | 38.65 |
| United Kingdom | 37.45 |
| Colombia | 37 |
| Turkey | 34.25 |
| France | 30.8 |
| Argentina | 28.75 |
| Italy | 27.1 |
| South Africa | 26.7 |
| Algeria | 24.9 |
6. By reasons of usage
There are many different reasons for which people use Facebook
| Reason | Percentage of People |
| Message friends and family | 72.4% |
| Post or share photos or videos | 63.2% |
| Keep up to date with news and current events | 8.2% |
| Look for funny or entertaining content | 54.7% |
| Follow or research brands and products | 53.0% |
Most users use Facebook to stay connected with their family and friends. The primary method is messaging. (source- demandsage)
7.By industry activity
Every industry is active on Facebook as this platform has a massive presence of active users. On average, industries post 4.69 posts / a week. (source – Rival-IQ).
91% of Businesses are present on Facebook (source -https://whop.com/)
| Industry | Posts per Week |
| Alcohol | 2.6 |
| Fashion | 4.3 |
| Financial Services | 4.7 |
| Food & Beverage | 2.2 |
| Health & Beauty | 3.7 |
| Higher Education | 6.2 |
| Home Decor | 4.0 |
| Influencers | 3.9 |
| Media | 64.6 |
| Nonprofits | 6.0 |
| Retail | 5.1 |
| Sports Teams | 24.3 |
| Tech & Software | 4.4 |
| Travel | 3.1 |
8.By Growth
The number of Facebook users has always grown and seen an upward trend; even after facing heavy competition from other social media platforms, Facebook has seen growth in each quarter.
Facebook’s monthly active users have risen by 7.18% year-over-year.
(source -sendshort.ai)
| Year | Active User Accounts (in billions) |
| 2023 | 3.03 |
| 2022 | 2.96 |
| 2021 | 2.91 |
| 2020 | 2.74 |
| 2019 | 2.50 |
| 2018 | 2.32 |
| 2017 | 2.10 |
| 2016 | 1.79 |
| 2015 | 1.59 |
| 2014 | 1.39 |
| 2013 | 1.22 |
| 2012 | 1.06 |
| 2011 | 0.845 |
| 2010 | 0.608 |
9. By Engagement
Facebook users spend a lot of Time on reels, videos, stories, posts, Facebook groups, and messaging each other daily.
| Post Type | Engagement Rate (%) |
| Photo Posts | 43.75 |
| Video Posts | 28.75 |
| Album Posts | 27.50 |
Simply copy and paste this table into your Word document, and it should retain its structure. Let me know if you need any modifications!
- Messages
- Nearly 1 billion people use Facebook Messanger daily (source-sprout social)
- As of July 2024, Facebook Messanger was downloaded 4 Million times daily (source-whop)
- Stories
- 500 Million+ people use Facebook stories every day (source –Facebook )
- 1 Billion stories are shared every day. (source-facebook)
- Reels
- Facebook Reels get 200 billion views per day. ( source- socialsprout)
- The average interaction number on a reel is 215 per day. (source- whop)
- Videos
- Facebook users spend 50% of their Time watching videos on the platform
- More than 2 billion users watch videos on Facebook each month. (source- whop)
- Groups
- More than 1.8 Million people join Facebook groups every month.
- On average, 1.75 posts are posted daily on Facebook (as of 2024). (source- whop)
10. By Revenue generation
Facebook primarily generates revenue through its Meta Ads platform, which effectively helps businesses generate leads.
Every year, Facebook has seen a growth in revenue generation. (source-Statista 2024, Meta)
| Year | Revenue (in million USD) |
| 2009 | 777 |
| 2010 | 1,974 |
| 2011 | 3,711 |
| 2012 | 5,089 |
| 2013 | 7,872 |
| 2014 | 12,466 |
| 2015 | 17,928 |
| 2016 | 27,638 |
| 2017 | 40,653 |
| 2018 | 55,838 |
| 2019 | 70,697 |
| 2020 | 85,965 |
| 2021 | 117,929 |
| 2022 | 116,609 |
| 2023 | 134,902 |
| Q1 2024 | 39,070 |
| Q2 2024 | 36,460 |
Facebook’s net income for Q1 2024 was $12.37 billion, which was a remarkable 117% increase from Q1 2023 (Source- Teamgo)
11. By Facebook App Download
Facebook is one of the most downloaded social media apps on the Google Play Store, with more than 500 million downloads a year.(source-demandsage)
| Year | Downloads (in millions) |
| 2023 | 553 |
| 2022 | 413 |
| 2021 | 416 |
| 2020 | 540 |
| 2019 | 682 |
| 2018 | 710 |
| 2017 | 660 |
12. By Business Presence
The number of people using social media has been increasing, and it is predicted that by 2027, there will be 5.85 billion social media users and no business would like to miss the opportunity to make its mark in front of an audience. (source –synup.com)
- 91% of businesses are already present on Facebook.
- Businesses posted 4.69 times/a week on Facebook.
- According to marketers, Facebook is the second most loved channel for generating ROI. (source-whop. )
| Platform | ROI (%) |
| 22% |
13.By Marketing Activities
Facebook is widely used by B2B and B2C companies for their marketing needs.
- But B2B brands liked Facebook the most. (Source- whop)
- 26% of marketers have said that Facebook has some of the best audience targeting features.
- 89% of Social Media Marketers use Facebook for their business promotion.
- If we look at marketers’ leading social media platforms, Facebook will take the lead. (Source– Statista)
14. By Facebook Ads Published & Reach
Facebook ads were introduced in 2007. Back then, it changed the marketing dynamics. Slowly and slowly, the Facebook ads kept improving themselves by adding many new sophisticated tools and features.
- Currently, there are 8 million active Ad users on META platforms. (source- wecantrack)
- Mobile ads are dominant, generating around 94% of Facebook’s ad revenue. (source- electronicshub)
The following table shows the presence of Facebook ads among the audience (source-whop.com)
| Metric | Data |
| Total Potential Reach of Ads on Facebook | 2.24 billion |
| Facebook Ad Reach as a Percentage of Total Population | 27.5% |
| Facebook Ad Reach as a Percentage of Total Internet Users | 41.0% |
| Quarter-on-Quarter Change in Reported Ad Reach | -0.4% (-8.6 million) |
| Year-on-Year Change in Reported Ad Reach | +0.2% (+3.5 million) |
| Female Facebook Ad Reach (Share of Total) | 43.3% |
| Male Facebook Ad Reach (Share of Total) | 56.7% |
| Overall Facebook Ad Reach (18+ vs. Total 18+ Population) | 39.1% |
| Female Ad Reach (18+ vs. Total Female 18+ Population) | 33.5% |
| Male Ad Reach (18+ vs. Total Male 18+ Population) | 44.3% |
15. By Facebook Ads Engagement
Facebook Ads have improved greatly over the years, resulting in increased Engagement. (source-whop.in)
- Due to the introduction of AI tools and features, the cost of ads has also been reduced.
- Cost Reductions:
| Metric | Reduction Compared to Before |
| Cost per purchase reduction (AI targeting) | 68% lower |
| Cost per conversion reduction | 17% lower |
| Cost per acquisition reduction | 26% lower |
- Click-Through Rate (CTR) by Industry (Traffic Campaigns):
| Industry | CTR (%) |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2.55% |
| Real Estate | 2.45% |
| Restaurants & Food | 2.29% |
| All Industries (Average) | 1.51% |
- Essential Parameters for Facebook Ads:
| Metric | Value |
| Average CPC (Traffic Campaigns) | $0.83 |
| CTR (Lead Generation Campaigns) | 2.5% |
| Average CPC (Lead Generation Campaigns) | $1.92 |
| Average Cost per Lead (Lead Generation) | $23.10 |
| Average CPM (Ads Targeting Women) | $6.01 |
| Average CPM (Ads Targeting Men) | $4.92 |
- Advertising on Facebook is much cheaper than advertising on Google.
16. By Facebook Ad reach (country-wise)
As of April 2024, the Facebook ad had an impressive reach of 131.1% in Libya (source- Statista)
| Country | Facebook Audience Reach (%) |
| Libya | 131.1% |
| U.A.E. | 120.5% |
| Mongolia | 116% |
| Philippines | 114.5% |
| Qatar | 111.7% |
| Cambodia | 109.6% |
| Georgia | 105.8% |
| Vietnam | 102.6% |
| Peru | 101.9% |
| Tonga | 101% |
| Mexico | 100.6% |
| Ecuador | 98.4% |
| Aruba | 96.3% |
| Maldives | 95.4% |
| Cayman Islands | 95% |
| Colombia | 94.7% |
| Bolivia | 94.3% |
| Guyana | 94% |
| Greenland | 92.5% |
| Lebanon | 92.1% |
17. By Facebook Marketplace Usage
Facebook marketplace is a hub for buying, selling, or swapping goods and services. This is just like Facebook’s online marketplace. It was started in 2016, and today it has 1 billion monthly visitors. (Source –coupert.com, increditools.com)
| Metric | Value |
| Monthly Facebook Marketplace Users | 1.1 billion |
| Monthly Sellers on Facebook Marketplace | 250 million |
| Countries Using Facebook Marketplace | Over 200 |
| Facebook Marketplace Users (Germany, 16-29) | 15% |
| Countries with Over 100M Users | Brazil, India, Indonesia, United States |
| Advertising Audience on Marketplace | 562 million |
| Users Searching for Vehicles | 18.6% of Facebook users |
| Revenue Generated (2024) | $39.071 billion |
| Luxury Shoppers (Second-hand Market in USA) | 53% |
| Average Conversion Rate | 9% |
| Most Popular Item Category | Second-hand branded clothing |
| Home Rentals Listings | 30% of total listings |
| Female Users on Marketplace | 61.8% |
| Exclusive Buyers on Marketplace | 474 million |
| Most Active Age Group (USA) | 25-34 |
| Users Checking Marketplace Monthly | 50% of Facebook users |
| Users from Latin America | 42% of Marketplace users |
| Average Time Spent per Visit | 30.5 minutes |
18. By Facebook’s employees
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has always seen an increase in employee numbers. But the previous year has been an exception. (Source- macrotrends, financesonline.)
| Year | Number of Employees |
| 2024 | 72,404 |
| 2023 | 67,317 |
| 2022 | 86,482 |
| 2021 | 71,970 |
| 2020 | 58,604 |
| 2019 | 44,942 |
| 2018 | 35,587 |
| 2017 | 25,105 |
| 2016 | 17,048 |
| 2015 | 12,691 |
| 2014 | 9,199 |
| 2013 | 6,337 |
| 2012 | 4,619 |
19. By Future Growth Statistics
As we know, Facebook’s growth has been constant. According to Statista, Facebook’s future predictions can be like this:
| Year | Facebook Users in the USA (in millions) |
| 2028* | 262.8 |
| 2027* | 259.86 |
| 2026* | 256.78 |
| 2025* | 253.56 |
*Projected values for future years.
Facebook Ad Revenue Prediction( source-.electronicshub )
| Year | Facebook Ad Revenue Forecast (in Billions USD) |
| 2025 | $187.35 |
| 2026 | $202.94 |
Facebook’s Focus for the next 20 years: (source- Facebook)
- Building the next generation of social media Specifically designed for young adults.
- Leaning into new product capabilities:
- Powered and enabled by advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Improving the video-watching & sharing experience of people as there is an increase in video sharing by 80% year over year.
20. Some other interesting stats about Facebook
(Source- Teamgo)
- Engagement
Facebook is the 3rd most used app on Mobile Devices, after WhatsApp and YouTube
- About 64.1% of Android app Facebook users spend Time on the app daily
- Facebook is the 3rd most visited website in the USA as of April 2024, getting a traffic of 2.90 billion monthly traffic
- Facebook has a search volume of 584.9 Million.
(Source- Teamgo)
- Usage and Diversity
- 2/3 of the global population visit Facebook at least once a month.
- Facebook’s most active users belong to the Asia Pacific region, with 1.37 billion users.
Since Facebook supports 100 languages. Language diversity can be seen among Facebook users. English is the most preferred language on Facebook. (Source- Teamgo)
- 60% of users turn to Facebook to stay on track with News and current events. 30 % of Americans use Facebook as their primary source of News.
- It can also be seen that more people use Facebook on mobile devices.
- Facebook usage by device: (source- demandsage.com)
| Device | Share of Users (%) |
| Any mobile device | 98.5% |
| Laptop or Desktop | 1.5% |
| Both phones and computers | 16.7% |
| Only via a mobile phone | 81.8% |
The Ifs, Buts, and Pitfalls of Facebook
There is no doubt that Facebook has a massive user base, but there have been several fluctuations in its growth rate.
- Although the number of users on Facebook has kept growing, the growth rate has decreased. ( Sources: backlinko)
| Time Period | Facebook User Growth Rate (DAUs) |
| Q1 2020 to Q1 2021 | 15.3% |
| Q1 2021 to Q1 2022 | 4.4% |
| Q1 2022 to Q1 2023 | 3.9% |
| Q2 2022 to Q2 2023 | 4.9% |
| Q3 2022 to Q3 2023 | 5.1% |
| Q4 2022 to Q4 2023 | 5.5% |
- Not only is there a slowdown in the growth rate of Facebook, but there have been issues with safety and privacy on Facebook
- 62% of users reported scams on Facebook weekly.
(source-whop.com)
Here’s the data organized into a table:
| Metric | Value |
| Fake accounts (Q2 2024) | 3% of worldwide monthly active users |
| Fake accounts (2023) | 4% of worldwide monthly active users |
| Trademark violation reports (2023) | Over 1.33 million |
| Copyright infringement reports (2023) | Close to 5 million |
| Counterfeit IP reports (2023) | Over 436,000 |
| Percentage of scams on Facebook Marketplace (2023) | 34% of ads |
| Estimated consumer losses from Marketplace scams (2023) | $79 million |
Facebook has taken strict steps to curb fake accounts, scams, and infringements.
If we sum up
There is no doubt that the popularity of Facebook has declined among teens, and many do not prefer it. Instead, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Threads have gained more popularity each day.
However, the massive user base of Facebook and features like Marketplace, Targeted Ad marketing, Facebook communities, professional dashboards, etc., have made Facebook one of the most relevant platforms for business promotion and marketing.
Also, Facebook is popularly known for finding mutual friends and connecting with old friends, extended families, and relatives online.
And if you go through the above statistics, you can understand how powerful Facebook has dominated the online world in 20 years.
Do you want to know other social media stats? Check out our other blogs.
