URL: https://www.instagram.com/
Founded: October 2010
CEO: Kevin Systrom
Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
2 billion+ (source)
Last updated: 22/02/22
1.9 billion (source)
Last updated: 28/06/21
500 million+ (source)
Last updated: 22/02/22
200 million+ (source)
Last updated: 22/02/22
Year | Number of monthly users (In millions) |
2013 | 150 |
2014 | 300 |
2015 | 400 |
2016 | 600 |
2017 | 800 |
2018 | 1000 |
2019 | 1000* |
2020 | 1000* |
2021 | 1074 |
There are 2 billion active monthly users on Instagram in 2021 (Statista, 2021), having crossed the 2 billion mark in 2021, only 3 years after it crossed the 1 billion mark. This brings it to the super-league club of other social platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
Current Instagram figures show an increase of a billion users than the total numbers in 2018. Although experts had previously expected the platform to hit this milestone in 2024, analysts attribute a big part of this massive growth to the coronavirus pandemic, which drove users to sign up for Instagram.
While Instagram is only a photo-sharing platform once only popular with teens, it has grown to become one of the most popular social media sites in the world.
As of January 2022, India and the United States of America both tied at the top as the countries with the highest number of Instagram users at 230 and 160 million users each (Statista, 2022).
Based on these numbers, it is clear that the audience and reach of the platform are growing at a rapid pace in most countries outside the U.S. While the figures for the U.S do not seem to change, India recorded approximately 20 million new users between the period of October 2020 and January 2021 (Hootsuite, 2021) and then a 100 million more between 2021 and 2022 (Statista, 2021).
The other countries with the highest number of social media users besides the U.S and India are:
51.6% of all Instagram users are female, while 48.4% are male (Statista, 2021).
Unlike other major social media platforms like Twitter which have a very wide gender gap among its users, Instagram appears well-balanced and embraced by both genders equally. More Instagram demographic insights to follow.
25–34-year-olds make up the age group with the most Instagram users at 31.2% (Statista, 2021).
According to the statistics, 18–24-year-olds are the second most populous group in the Instagram usage world.
65+ year-olds make up the least number of Instagram users at only 2.2%.
The country with the highest Instagram reach in 2022 is Brunei, with 92% (Statista, 2022).
Kazakhstan might not be the country with the most Instagram users, but it is the country where Instagram reaches the highest percentage of its population: 92% to be precise.
The other countries with the highest Instagram reach in 2022 are Guam and Cayman Islands.
Instagram had a total of 170 million downloads in Q4 2021 (SensorTower, 2022).
Besides Facebook, this is one other app that has consistently maintained the top five position, with the number of downloads for the last couple of years. The numbers are quite impressive, even with the entry of other more recent apps like TikTok.
Instagram users spent an average of 28 minutes per day on the platform in 2021 (Hootsuite, 2021).
This marks a decrease of about two minutes from 2020.
Do you think you also fall under the same category?
How much time do you spend on Instagram every day?
According to Facebook (Instagram’s parent company), you can see the average amount of time you spent on Instagram within the last 7 days. Time spent on Instagram starts when you open the app and ends when you close it or switch to using another app on your device.
As Instagram becomes increasingly more popular, an estimated 71% of U.S businesses claimed to use Instagram for Business in 2018 (Mention, 2018). That’s approximately 7 out of 10 businesses that use Instagram to help boost their online visibility and connect with their audiences. Today, the number is even higher.
There are more than 200 million business accounts on Instagram globally that users visit every day (Instagram, 2021). This is quite possible, as 90% of Instagram users follow at least one brand.
With a good presence on Instagram, businesses can cater to their clients’ needs much easier, as 2 out of 3 Instagram users believe the platform enables interaction with brands (Instagram, 2021).
What’s more?
It is easy for users to shop directly from the app, and approximately 130 million Instagram users tap on shopping posts to learn more about the product every month.
Another noteworthy statistic is that 36.2% of B2B decision-makers use Instagram to research new products or services (Hootsuite/ WeAreSocial, 2020). These figures clearly indicate the power of Instagram as a crucial business tool in this digital era.
The average engagement rate for an Instagram post by a business account is 1.11%. That’s true for accounts with less than 10,000 followers. (SocialPilot, 2021).
These figures imply that for every 100 Instagram followers, you should expect at least engagement from one account. Engagement is currently the highest for image posts at 1.03%, followed by carousel posts at 0.86%. Videos receive the third-highest engagements on Instagram at 0.75%.
According to Instagram, over 500 million accounts use Instagram Stories every day (Instagram, 2021).
58% of Instagram users claim to have become more interested in a brand/product after seeing it in Stories. A further 50% of them say they have visited a website to buy a product/service as a result of seeing it in Stories.
Furthermore, 45% of Instagram users prefer to use Stories to become aware of new trends and happenings.
We shouldn’t also forget that brand stories have an 86% completion rate, according to Conviva Social Insights.
Lastly, Instagram Stories generate a quarter of the platform’s ad revenues. This year, Stories ads are predicted to bring in almost $16 billion in global net ad revenues, according to eMarketer Insights.
These figures clearly indicate that as a business with an online presence on Instagram, it would be crucial to include Instagram Stories as a part of your content marketing strategies.
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