Social Media Statistics for 2024

Welcome to the ultimate list of social media statistics for 2024.

With constant changes happening in the social media landscape, staying informed can be a challenge.

However, keeping track of the numbers that truly matter can provide invaluable insights. That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you, scouring the web to compile a complete record of all the social media statistics you need to know for 2024, with sources included.

So, no need to open multiple tabs or search for the latest updates, everything you need is right here.

From global reports like the Digital Report to localised Australian sources, we regularly update this page with the most recent information available.

Get ready to discover all the essential facts, statistics, demographics, and more.

Let’s dive into the general social media stats you need to know right now.

Why do consumers follow brands?

Why do consumers unfollow brands?

What about Australian consumers?

  • One in five SMBs (21%) do not have a strategy to drive traffic to their social media channels.
  • Small businesses are less likely than medium businesses to have a social media strategy (26% vs 13%). Similarly, businesses in regional areas are less likely to have a strategy in place than businesses in metro areas (28% vs 17%).
  • Thirty-four per cent of businesses in the cultural and recreational industry do not have a social media strategy.
  • The most prominent way for SMBs to drive traffic to their social media channels is through links on their business website (50%)
  • Liking, following or subscribing to other businesses or users on social media is another relatively popular method (26%).
  • Leading reasons why Australian SMBs use social media are to promote the business (33%), create awareness and exposure (28%), connect and interact with their consumer base (19%) and generate sales (17%).
  • Sixty-three per cent of Australian SMBs use social media channels to engage in two-way communication with customers and contacts.
  • For the majority of SMBs, their social media presence is made up of written content, photos, images and videos. This remains consistent across small to medium businesses and industries and locations.

Social Media Budgets and Advertising 

 

  • Medium businesses are more likely to advertise on traditional media (21%) or on other websites (19%) than small businesses.
  • Businesses continue to advertise on social media with 37% of the surveyed SMBs saying that they have paid for advertising.
  • Advertising on social media is more common among medium sized businesses than in small businesses (44% vs 34%) and in metro areas as opposed to rural (41% vs 31%).
  • The wholesale industry leads the pack as being most likely to advertise on social media (54%), meanwhile cultural and recreational services are the least likely to (26%).
  • The average estimated annual expenditure by Australian SMBs on social media advertising is just over $3,000. Together with their average estimated expenditure on content and strategic management services (almost $2,300 on each), Australian SMBs spend a total of almost $7,600 on their social media each year. As a percentage of their marketing budget (where one exists) this amount represents 12% on average.
  • Among the Australian SMBs who have advertised on social media, Facebook (83%) has been used much more than others such as Instagram (22%), LinkedIn (16%) or Twitter (12%). Regardless of the social media channel used for advertising, around 80% of Australian SMBs say it was effective.
  • Aussie SMBs are a generous bunch, with 37% saying they offer incentives to current and potential customers via social media. This practice is most common in the wholesale (56%), hospitality (55%) and retail (54%) industries. Among the incentives offered, the most popular types are discounts (67%) and giveaways (45%).
  • Only 5% of SMBs admit to paying social influencers to promote their business. Of those who did pay to use social influencers, 61% say the tactic was successful.

The figures below are based on monthly active users, active user accounts, advertising audiences and unique monthly visitors.

  1. Facebook – 2.91 billion
  2. YouTube – 2.56 billion
  3. WhatsApp  – 2 billion
  4. Instagram – 1.45 billion
  5. WeChat – 1.26 billion
  6. TikTok – 1 billion
  7. Facebook Messenger – 1.0 billion
  8. Douyin – 613 million
  9. Snapchat – 589 million
  10. Kuaishou – 578 million
  11.  Sina Weibo – 573 million 
  12. QQ – 552 million
  13. Telegram – 550 million
  14. Pinterest – 431 million
  15. Reddit – 430 million

The following 10 countries lead the world with 99% internet adoption compared to its population.

  • Bahrain 
  • Denmark 
  • Iceland 
  • Ireland 
  • Kuwait 
  • Liechtenstien 
  • Luxembourg 
  • Normway 
  • Qatar 
  • U.A.E

Below is the % share of the world’s total offline population, based on region.

  • Northern Europe – 0.1%
  • Western Europe – 0.4%
  • Northern America – 1.0%
  • Southern America – 3.3%
  • Southern Europe – 0.7%
  • Central America – 1.9%
  • South Eastern Asia – 6.3%
  • Eastern Asia – 15.5%
  • Eastern Europe – 1.4%
  • Oceania – 0.4%
  • Western Asia – 2.6%
  • Caribbean – 0.5%
  • Northern Africa – 3.1%
  • Southern Africa – 0.8%
  • Southern Asia – 36.7%
  • Central Asia – 0.9%
  • Western Africa – 8.2%
  • Eastern Africa – 11.7%
  • Middle Africa – 4.8%

Below are the top ten countries globally for mobile internet connection speed.

  1. United Arab Emirates
  2. South Korea
  3. The Netherlands
  4. Saudi Arabia 
  5. Denmark 
  6. China
  7. Switzerland
  8. Canada
  9. Australia
  10. Singapore

Below are the top ten countries globally for fixed internet connection speed.

  1. Chile 
  2. Singapore
  3. Monaco
  4. Thailand
  5. Denmark
  6. Hong Kong
  7. Macau
  8. China
  9. U.S.A
  10. Spain

Below is the average amount of time per day internet users aged between 16 – 64 spend with different media and devices:

    • Using the internethttps://share.smperth.com/c4h – 6 hrs 54 mins
  • Watching TV – 3 hrs 24 mins
    • Using social media – 2 hrs 25 mins
  • Reading press media – 2 hrs 2 mins
    • Listening to music streaming services – 1 hr 31 mins
    • Using a games console – 1 hr 12 mins
  • Listening to broadcast radio – 1 hr
  • Listening to podcasts – 54 mins


We’re happy to part with some cash for all this media too – 72.5% of internet users worldwide have paid for digital content. The most popular being movie or TV streaming services (31.2%).

Below is a list of the top mobile apps globally by average monthly active users, excluding China:

  1. Facebook
  2. YouTube
  3. WhatsApp
  4. Instagram
  5. TikTok
  6. Facebook Messenger
  7. Snapchat
  8. Twitter
  9. Pinterest
  10. Reddit

Below is a list of the top mobile apps globally by total downloads in 2022:

  1. TikTok (including Douyin)
  2. Facebook
  3. Instagram
  4. WhatsApp
  5. Telegram
  6. Zoom 
  7. Snapchat
  8. Facebook Messenger
  9. Duolingo
  10. Amazon

Below is a list of the top mobile apps globally by consumer spend in 2022:

  1. TikTok 
  2. YouTube
  3. Tinder
  4. Disney+
  5. HBO Max
  6. Tencent Video
  7. Google One
  8. Piccoma
  9. iQiYi
  10. QQ Music

Top websites by traffic in Australia.

  1. Google.com
  2. YouTube.com
  3. Facebook.com
  4.  Wikipedia.com
  5. Twitter.com
  6. abc.net.au
  7. news.com.au
  8. Instagram.com
  9. Netflix.com
  10. live.com
  11. reddit.com
  12. Ebay.com.au
  13. office.com
  14. realestate.com.au
  15. yahoo.com
  16. Too XXX to mention…
  17. Bom.gov.au (gotta check that beach report!)
  18. Too XXX to mention…
  19. amazon.com.au
  20. nine.com.au
  21. 9news.com.au
  22. Too XXX to mention…
  23. linkedin.com
  24. microsoftonline.com
  25. commbank.com.au

The most common Google search queries in Australia in 2022.

  1. Weather
  2. News
  3. Facebook
  4. Google
  5. YouTube
  6. Bunnings
  7. Kmart
  8. BoM
  9. Coles
  10. Woolworths
  11. ABC
  12. NSW Covid
  13. Real eastate
  14. AFL
  15. BIG W
  16. MyGov
  17. Netflix
  18. BoM Radar
  19. Ebay
  20. NRL

Australia’s most popular social media platforms.

  1. Facebook
  2. Facebook Messenger
  3. Instagram
  4. WhatsApp
  5. iMessage
  6. Snapchat
  7. TikTok
  8. Twitter
  9. Pinterest
  10. LinkedIn
  11. Reddit
  12. Skype
  13. Discord

Australia’s top social media apps by average time spent per user per month in 2022.

  1. TikTok – 23.4 hours
  2. Facebook – 17.6 hours
  3. YouTube – 17.1 hours
  4. Instagram – 8.3 hours
  5. WhatsApp – 5.8 hours

Australia’s top video streaming apps by average time spent per user per month in 2022.

  1. YouTube – 17.1 hours
  2. Netflix – 5.3 hours
  3. Stan – 3.4 hours
  4. Twitch – 3.4 hours
  5. Amazon Prime Video – 2.6 hours

Below is the percentage of Australian internet users between 16 – 64 who perform the following actions each month.

  • Purchased a product or service online – 52.7%
  • Ordered groceries online – 20.9%
  • Bought a second-hand item via an online store – 13.1%
  • Used an online price comparison service – 19.2%
  • Used a buy now, pay later service – 13.2%

Below is the total spent by Australians on different E commerce categories.

  • Electronics – $8.89 billion 
  • Fashion – $9.65 billion 
  • Furniture – $3.59 billion 
  • Toys, DIY, Hobby – $4.52 billion 
  • Personal and Household – $4.49 billion 
  • Food – $3.66 billion 
  • Beverage – $2.65 billion 
  • Physical media – $817.8 million

How internet users in Australia aged 16 – 24 claim they are finding out about new brands.

  1. Search engines – 42%
  2. TV ads – 42%
  3. Word-of-mouth – 38%
  4. Social media ads – 26%
  5. In-store displays – 25%
  6. Product brochures – 24%
  7. Brand or product websites – 24%
  8. Ads on websites – 22%
  9. TV shows or films – 22%
  10. Direct mail or email – 18%

Feel the need for more statistics?

Looking for some platform-specific stats? We got you.