---
title: "Social Media Platform Use Around the World"
description: "Facebook is generally the top platform globally, followed by Instagram, while fewer overall use TikTok, X or Snapchat."
date: "2026-10-01"
authors:
  - name: "Richard Wike"
    job_title: "Director, Global Attitudes Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/richard-wike/"
  - name: "Maria Smerkovich"
    job_title: "Research Associate"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/maria-smerkovich/"
  - name: "Moira Fagan"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/moira-fagan/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/social-media-platform-use-around-the-world/"
categories:
  - "Global Tech & Cybersecurity"
  - "International Political Values"
  - "Social Media"
---

# Social Media Platform Use Around the World

**About this research**

This Pew Research Center report looks at views of how social media has impacted democracy in 37 countries, as well as social media use by platform in each place.

#### Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. We study how people around the world feel about their democracies and the impact of social media and other emerging technologies, such as [artificial intelligence (AI)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/09/17/globally-more-people-expect-ai-to-cause-job-loss-than-growth/).

[Learn more about Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/about/) and our [international surveys](https://www.pewresearch.org/international-surveys/).

#### How did we do this?

We surveyed 42,151 people across 36 countries: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Interviews were conducted from Feb. 8 to May 13, 2026. We designed the surveys so we could talk about the views of the adult population in each country.

For this report, data from the United States comes from two surveys. We surveyed 3,507 U.S. adults from March 23 to 29, 2026. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s [American Trends Panel](https://www.pewresearch.org/the-american-trends-panel/). Additionally, we surveyed 5,511 U.S. adults from Jan. 30 to June 18, 2026 as part of the [National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS)](https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/fact-sheet/national-public-opinion-reference-survey-npors/). These surveys represent the views of the full U.S. adult population.

Here are the [survey questions used](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/09/pg_2026.10.01_social-media-democracy_topline.pdf) for this report, along with responses, and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/methodology-social-media-democracy/).

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.

### Shares who use social media in 37 countries

*% who say they use the following websites and apps*

| Country | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | X | Snapchat | Grouping |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| U.S. | 70 | 51 | 37 | 18 | 26 | North America |
| Canada | 68 | 46 | 26 | 18 | 19 | North America |
| France | 56 | 48 | 28 | 12 | 31 | Europe |
| Germany | 35 | 45 | 17 | 10 | 12 | Europe |
| Greece | 70 | 55 | 37 | 13 | 6 | Europe |
| Hungary | 78 | 37 | 37 | 10 | 9 | Europe |
| Italy | 65 | 60 | 33 | 12 | 6 | Europe |
| Netherlands | 49 | 47 | 24 | 12 | 19 | Europe |
| Poland | 73 | 45 | 35 | 18 | 13 | Europe |
| Spain | 57 | 61 | 40 | 25 | 7 | Europe |
| Sweden | 73 | 67 | 22 | 13 | 35 | Europe |
| U.K. | 58 | 52 | 33 | 22 | 20 | Europe |
| Australia | 81 | 59 | 27 | 19 | 24 | Asia-Pacific |
| Bangladesh | 42 | 8 | 25 | 2 | 7 | Asia-Pacific |
| India | 43 | 38 | 6 | 7 | 18 | Asia-Pacific |
| Indonesia | 67 | 45 | 62 | 15 | 8 | Asia-Pacific |
| Japan | 42 | 55 | 37 | 51 | 6 | Asia-Pacific |
| Malaysia | 83 | 62 | 81 | 30 | 14 | Asia-Pacific |
| Pakistan | 51 | 17 | 52 | 6 | 28 | Asia-Pacific |
| Philippines | 86 | 40 | 58 | 19 | 22 | Asia-Pacific |
| Singapore | 76 | 72 | 61 | 26 | 12 | Asia-Pacific |
| South Korea | 56 | 52 | 35 | 28 | 5 | Asia-Pacific |
| Sri Lanka | 54 | 19 | 35 | 7 | 16 | Asia-Pacific |
| Thailand | 70 | 32 | 68 | 20 | 6 | Asia-Pacific |
| Israel | 72 | 58 | 47 | 26 | 14 | Middle East |
| Turkey | 60 | 75 | 30 | 35 | 12 | Middle East |
| W. Bank/E. Jerusalem | 88 | 64 | 72 | 14 | 50 | Middle East |
| Ghana | 61 | 26 | 65 | 16 | 41 | Africa |
| Kenya | 64 | 28 | 58 | 16 | 28 | Africa |
| Nigeria | 72 | 40 | 57 | 26 | 34 | Africa |
| South Africa | 69 | 28 | 59 | 14 | 22 | Africa |
| Argentina | 79 | 69 | 55 | 22 | 13 | Latin America |
| Brazil | 62 | 67 | 51 | 7 | 6 | Latin America |
| Chile | 81 | 65 | 66 | 30 | 18 | Latin America |
| Colombia | 80 | 54 | 66 | 22 | 20 | Latin America |
| Mexico | 81 | 50 | 62 | 24 | 25 | Latin America |
| Peru | 87 | 51 | 72 | 23 | 24 | Latin America |
| 37-country median | 69 | 51 | 40 | 18 | 18 | Median |

* TikTok has been banned in India since 2020.Note: The most commonly used platform in each country is highlighted in green. Where more than one platform is highlighted, there is no significant difference between the shares that use them.

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"

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](https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/understanding-country-income--world-bank-group-income-classifica).

These findings are part of a [larger report](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/across-the-globe-people-increasingly-say-social-media-is-harming-democracy/) 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?

## When was the last time we asked people outside the U.S. about their social media use?

[In 2023](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/22/whatsapp-and-facebook-dominate-the-social-media-landscape-in-middle-income-nations/), we surveyed people about their use of social media platforms in eight middle-income countries: Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa.

At the time, we asked about Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp and X (then still called Twitter). This year, we did not ask about Telegram or WhatsApp, but added Snapchat.

In the U.S., we ask about a longer list of [social media platforms](https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/internet-technology/) annually.

Social media use has shifted in eight middle-income countries where we [asked about these platforms in 2023](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/22/whatsapp-and-facebook-dominate-the-social-media-landscape-in-middle-income-nations/).

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.

### TikTok use is up in several middle-income countries

*% who say they use TikTok*

|  | Nigeria | Indonesia | Argentina | South Africa | Mexico | Kenya |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2023 | 25 | 35 | 31 | 37 | 41 | 37 |
| 2026 | 57 | 62 | 55 | 59 | 62 | 58 |

Note: Only countries with statistically significant increases are shown.

Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey."Across the Globe, People Increasingly Say Social Media Is Harming Democracy"

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.

### 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 |

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"

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.

### 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 |

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"

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.

### 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 |  |

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"

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](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladeshs-internet-shutdown-isolates-citizens-disrupts-business-2024-07-26/) during [periods of unrest](https://www.france24.com/en/india-extends-internet-shutdown-amid-youth-protests).

#### 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.

[]

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**Next:** [Acknowledgments](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/10/01/acknowledgments-social-media-democracy.md)