What Social Media Platforms Do People Use Around the World?

Social media platform use varies among people in 37 countries around the world. Facebook is generally the top platform of the five we asked about in a new Pew Research Center survey, followed by Instagram. Fewer overall use TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter) or Snapchat.

Large majorities in most of these countries use at least one of these platforms, but multi-platform users (defined here as those who report using three or more of the five) tend to be more common in middle-income countries, as defined by World Bank lending groups.

These findings are part of a larger report on views of social media and its impact on democracy and individuals.

Which social media platforms are most popular?

We asked people whether they use Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and Snapchat. Across 37 countries, we find that:

• Facebook is generally the top social media platform among these five. The shares who report using it are significantly higher than those that use the second-most common platform in more than half the countries surveyed.
• In some countries, Instagram is equally or more popular than Facebook – especially in high-income nations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
• TikTok is among the top platforms in some middle-income Asian and African countries. (TikTok has been banned in India since 2020.)
• Use of X and Snapchat is generally much lower than other platforms we asked about. However, about half the Japanese public uses X, and a similar share of Palestinians use Snapchat.

Which platforms are growing?

Social media use has shifted in eight middle-income countries where we asked about these platforms in 2023.

Since the last time we asked this question globally, TikTok use is up considerably, Facebook and Instagram use are up somewhat and use of X has mostly stayed the same or decreased. We did not ask about Snapchat in 2023.

TikTok use has increased by double digits in almost every country where trends are available. For example, in Nigeria, the share of TikTok users has more than doubled from 25% in 2023 to 57% today.

Instagram use has also increased in six of the eight countries where we last asked the question – including double-digit increases of 17 percentage points in Nigeria, 15 points in Argentina, 14 points in Indonesia and 12 points in India.

Similarly, the shares that report using Facebook have grown in Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa.

Unlike the other platforms we asked about, use of X has stayed the same or decreased in most of the countries where trend data is available. For example, in Brazil, just 7% report using X – down from 22% in 2023. But in Indonesia and Nigeria, the shares that use X have grown.

Who uses Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok and Snapchat?

Broadly, younger people and more educated people are more likely to use each of the platforms we asked about, with a few exceptions.

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Social media use by age

% who say they use the following websites and apps, by age

Note: Percentages are medians based on 37 countries.

Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey and survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026.
“Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy”

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Social media use by age

% who say they use the following websites and apps, by age

	Facebook	Instagram	TikTok	Snapchat	X	Groupings
Total	69	51	40	18	18	Total
18-34	78	77	64	35	29	age
35-49	74	57	44	12	16	age
50+	59	29	26	4	9	age

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Note: Percentages are medians based on 37 countries.

Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey and survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026.
“Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy”

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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In high-income countries, Facebook tends to be most popular among those ages 35 to 49. But in middle-income countries, Facebook is most popular among younger people, those 18 to 34.

In 36 of the 37 countries surveyed, younger adults are more likely to use Instagram than older adults. And those with more education are also more likely to use Instagram than those with less education.

TikTok use is also much more prevalent among younger people than older people virtually everywhere we polled. In several places, young adults are about 50 percentage points more likely to use TikTok than people ages 5o and older.

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Facebook is most popular with young people in middle-income countries, less so in high-income

% who say they use Facebook, by age

Note: Statistically significant differences are in bold.

Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey and survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026.
“Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy”

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Facebook is most popular with young people in middle-income countries, less so in high-income

% who say they use Facebook, by age

	Ages 18-34	18-34	35-49	50+	Youngest-oldest diff
Indonesia	88	88	74	29	+59
Sri Lanka	78	78	62	22	+56
Bangladesh	67	67	32	12	+55
Thailand	98	98	92	45	+53
South Africa	87	87	73	34	+53
India	65	65	37	16	+49
Kenya	78	78	55	36	+42
Ghana	72	72	59	31	+41
Mexico	96	96	87	56	+40
South Korea	79	79	70	40	+39
Philippines	99	99	90	63	+36
Colombia	91	91	89	62	+29
Chile	93	93	93	65	+28
Poland	86	86	85	59	+27
Hungary	93	93	88	67	+26
Peru	97	97	89	73	+24
Pakistan	59	59	47	35	+24
Greece	83	83	84	60	+23
W. Bank/E. Jerusalem	93	93	92	74	+19
Argentina	86	86	85	67	+19
Japan	47	47	67	30	+17
France	62	62	69	48	+14
Israel	75	75	77	67	+8
Brazil	62	62	71	54	+8
U.K.	59	59	74	51	+8
Australia	84	84	84	77	+7
U.S.	72	72	78	65	+7
Sweden	73	73	86	67	+6
Malaysia	82	82	90	77	+5
Netherlands	44	44	58	48	-4
Turkey	54	54	66	60	-6
Germany	26	26	50	32	-6
Canada	57	57	84	66	-9
Italy	55	55	70	68	-13
Spain	46	46	66	59	-13
Singapore	62	62	87	80	-18

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Note: Statistically significant differences are in bold.

Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey and survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026.
“Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy”

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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While people with more education are generally more likely to use TikTok than those with less education, this pattern is reversed in some high-income countries.

As with the other social media platforms, younger people and more highly educated people are more likely than their counterparts to say they use X.

Snapchat is dominated by younger adults in most places, and in several countries, it is almost exclusively used by the youngest demographic. For instance, in the U.K., the majority of those ages 18 to 34 use Snapchat (58%) compared to only 2% of those 50 and older.

As with TikTok, Snapchat use is more common among those with more education in middle income countries like Ghana, Pakistan and Peru – but in high-income countries like Canada, France and the Netherlands, people with less education are more likely to use it.

Where is social media use most widespread?

Majorities in most surveyed countries report using at least one of the social media platforms asked about, but there is significant variation in the number of platforms they use.

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Social media use varies across 37 countries

% who, when asked if they ever use Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok or Snapchat, say they …

Note: Percentages are calculated based on whether people say they use each of the following websites or apps: Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok and Snapchat. Those who answered none of the social media platform use questions are not shown.

Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey and survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026.
“Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy”

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Social media use varies across 37 countries

% who, when asked if they ever use Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok or Snapchat, say they …

Country	Use 3+ platforms	Use 1 to 2 platforms	Use none of the platforms	Categories
U.S.	37	45	14	North America
Canada	27	54	19	North America
Sweden	38	48	14	Europe
U.K.	34	43	23	Europe
Spain	33	51	17	Europe
Greece	33	46	21	Europe
Poland	30	50	19	Europe
France	30	44	25	Europe
Hungary	28	53	19	Europe
Italy	27	55	18	Europe
Netherlands	21	51	28	Europe
Germany	16	44	39	Europe
Malaysia	59	37	4	Asia-Pacific
Singapore	51	42	8	Asia-Pacific
Japan	43	24	33	Asia-Pacific
Philippines	42	45	13	Asia-Pacific
Indonesia	41	36	23	Asia-Pacific
Australia	36	53	11	Asia-Pacific
Thailand	33	44	23	Asia-Pacific
South Korea	33	38	29	Asia-Pacific
Pakistan	27	38	35	Asia-Pacific
Sri Lanka	20	42	37	Asia-Pacific
India	17	33	48	Asia-Pacific
Bangladesh	10	36	55	Asia-Pacific
W. Bank/E. Jerusalem	61	32	7	Middle East
Israel	43	37	20	Middle East
Turkey	38	49	13	Middle East
Nigeria	46	28	25	Africa
Ghana	43	29	27	Africa
Kenya	39	32	28	Africa
South Africa	36	42	23	Africa
Chile	56	32	13	Latin America
Peru	53	36	11	Latin America
Colombia	51	36	13	Latin America
Argentina	49	41	11	Latin America
Mexico	48	35	16	Latin America
Brazil	36	48	16	Latin America
37-country median	36	42	19

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Note: Percentages are calculated based on whether people say they use each of the following websites or apps: Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok and Snapchat. Those who answered none of the social media platform use questions are not shown.

Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey and survey of U.S. adults conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026.
“Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy”

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

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Broadly, the shares of multi-platform users – those who use three or more of the five social media platforms on our list – tend to be larger in middle-income nations than in high-income countries.

Half or more in Malaysia, Singapore, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Chile, Peru and Colombia say they use at least three of these platforms.

Non-users are most likely to be found in Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. At least one-third in each of these countries say they don’t use any of the social media platforms asked about.

Some of the places with the biggest shares of non-users are countries where specific platforms are restricted (like TikTok in India) or people experience internet and social media blackouts during periods of unrest.

What characterizes social media users?

When it comes to social media platform use, there are differences by age. In every country surveyed, adults under age 35 are the most likely to use three or more platforms of the five we asked about, while those 50 and older are the least likely to report using multiple platforms. The oldest adults in nearly all countries are more likely to say they don’t use any social media platforms.

And in many places, those with more education are at least twice as likely as those with less education to use three or more platforms – except in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, where those who are more educated are less likely to use multiple platforms.

In a few countries, those on the ideological left are more likely to use at least three platforms compared to those on the right. For instance, roughly half of Turks on the left are self-reported multi-platform users – nearly double the share of Turks on the right who say the same. We see a similar pattern in Australia, Colombia, Israel and Thailand.