Instagram in 2024 is a dynamic and rapidly growing social media platform. It is used by millions of users worldwide, and it has become an essential platform for businesses to reach their target audience. The continuous introduction of new features makes Instagram one of the most adaptable social media platforms out there, but it can be quite demanding to stay updated.
This is where Instagram statistics become valuable. Since its 2010 launch, Instagram has surged to over 2.4 billion active users, ranking it among the world’s top 5 social networking platforms. In fact, about a quarter of all active internet users worldwide use the platform each month!
As Instagram approaches its 14th anniversary this October, it remains vibrant and innovative, consistently rolling out fresh features and refining its algorithms. Furthermore, Instagram recently introduced a social media platform called “Threads”.
To craft an effective marketing strategy for Instagram, it is essential to remain well-informed about its present conditions and emerging trends. In this article, we have explored a wide range of topics, including Instagram’s user demographics and optimal posting times on the platform.
Instagram currently boasts a staggering 2.4 billion monthly active users, solidifying its position as the fourth most popular social media platform worldwide in terms of MAUs.
Projections indicate that by the close of 2024, Instagram’s user base is expected to surpass 2.5 billion. Remarkably, 35.71% of the world’s 5.6 billion smartphone users engage with Instagram.
Here is the table displaying Instagram’s Monthly Active Users since 2013:
Year | Instagram Monthly Active Users |
2013 | 110 million |
2014 | 200 million |
2015 | 370 million |
2016 | 500 million |
2017 | 700 million |
2018 | 1 billion |
2019 | 1.1 billion |
2020 | 1.3 billion |
2021 | 2 billion |
2022 | 2.3 billion |
2023 | 2.4 Billion |
2024 (projected) | 2.5 billion |
Since its launch in 2010, Instagram stands as one of the world’s most successful social media platforms. As of January 2024, Instagram has over 2.4 billion monthly active users.
Meta(formerly Facebook) recently revealed that a staggering 500 million people engage with Instagram every day, equivalent to one of every eight internet users checking in at least once within a 24-hour period.
Key Insights on Instagram’s Daily Active Users (DAUs):
India leads with 359 million users, making it the country with the highest number of Instagram users globally. Following closely are the United States with 158.5 million users and Brazil with 123 million users. Together, these three nations comprise over 50% of Instagram’s worldwide user base.
Aside from Indonesia, Turkey, Japan, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy, several other countries are also booming with Instagram users.
Below is a table displaying the countries with the highest number of Instagram users:
Countries | Instagram Users |
India | 359 million |
United States | 158.5 million |
Brazil | 123 million |
Indonesia | 105 million |
Turkey | 57 million |
Japan | 55 million |
Mexico | 46 million |
Germany | 32 million |
United Kingdom | 31.3 million |
Italy | 29 million |
Source: (Oberlo)
When we analyze Instagram’s Daily Active Users (DAUs) throughout its history, it becomes clear that the introduction of numerous exciting new features over the years has greatly contributed to the app’s user engagement.
Fast forward to the present day, and the landscape has transformed significantly. Today, thanks to the introduction of several remarkable user-centric features, over half of Monthly Active Users (MAUs) now engage with the app daily.
Let’s briefly discuss these features below:
On August 2nd, 2016, Instagram introduced the Stories feature, taking on its rival Snapchat. It allows users to share video and photo sequences that vanish 24 hours after posting. Within a few months, 100 million users were using it daily.
Just 8 months after its launch, this feature surpassed Snapchat’s 150 million Daily Active Users (DAUs).
Below is the breakdown of Instagram Stories Daily Active Users:
Year | Instagram Daily Active Users |
2016 | 100 million |
2017 | 250 million |
2019 | 500 million |
2022 | 650 million |
2023 | Over 990 million |
More Instagram Stories Statistics:
What does this mean for you? It’s fine to have some days without Instagram Stories on your content calendar.
To know more, head to Instagram Stories vs Posts: Which Works Best?
Source: (Basic Thinking)
Nation | Percent Of Population |
Brunei | 89% |
Kazakhstan | 82.7% |
Turkey | 76.5% |
Cyprus | 75.7% |
Cayman Islands | 75.5% |
Iceland | 73.8% |
Guam | 72.8% |
Chile | 72.3% |
Sweden | 71.3% |
Uruguay | 71.2% |
Facebook’s parent company Meta owns four of the top six social networks (Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram).
Social Media Platform | Active users |
3.03 billion. | |
YouTube | 2.7 billion. |
2.7 billion. | |
2.4 billion. | |
FB Messenger | 1.03 billion. |
1.67 billion. | |
TikTok | 1.67 billion. |
Telegram | 750 million |
606 million | |
Snapchat | 750 million |
This section gives you access to Instagram demographics, such as gender distribution, age distribution, etc.
A whopping 61.8% of Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 35!
A table showing the age of Instagram users is shown below:
Age Group | Share of Users |
13-17 | 8.5% |
18-24 | 30.1% |
25-34 | 31.5% |
35-44 | 16.1% |
45-54 | 8% |
55-64 | 3.6% |
65+ | 2.1% |
Instagram Users in the United States by Location
Location | Percent of users |
Urban | 45% |
Sub-urban | 31% |
Rural | 24% |
Income data of Instagrammers:
39% of Instagram users earn between 30k and 75k per year, while 42% earn less than $75k.
Here is a table showing the income of Instagram users in the United States:
People’s income | User Percent |
Earning < $29,999 | 31% |
Earning between $30,000 to $74,999 | 35% |
Earning > $75,000 | 34% |
Instagram reels are the direct competitor to TikToks. Since Instagram reels were launched in 2020, they have gained immense popularity. The reel feature is now being used by all of Instagram’s 2.4 billion MAUs. This feature also comes with some interesting facts and figures.
Instagram’s Threads app focuses more on discussions than visual content. Threads can be posted by users and replies can be made by others. Several types of replies can be sent, including text (up to 500 characters), links, photos, and videos. In essence, this is Instagram’s response to Twitter.
Want to read more about Instagram Threads? We’ve got you covered with What is Instagram Threads and How it Works.
All these stats might have you thinking Threads will kill Twitter (now rebranded as “X”) very soon, don’t they?
Let’s rethink this. Despite Twitter’s efforts to rebrand and introduce new features, Thread’s traffic also declined.
Approximately 45% of Twitter’s 109 million daily active users were on Threads on July 7, based on Similarweb estimates. Twitter’s audience fell to about 22% by July 14, when Thread’s active users dropped to 23.6 million.
It will be interesting to watch!
Instagrammers with fewer than 1k followers are the majority, according to a BrandWatch survey. Companies use micro-influencers to advertise their products, with 50,000 to 100,000 followers.
Considering the platform as a whole, this represents just 0.94 percent of its users.
Number of Followers | User Percent |
< 1,000 | 53.62% |
1001 – 10,000 | 38.03% |
10,001 – 50,000 | 6.2% |
50,001 – 100,000 | 0.94% |
100,001 – 500,000 | 0.94% |
500,001 – 10 million+ | 0.27% |
Due to its media-sharing nature, Instagram is one of the most important platforms for the influencer economy, where people are compensated according to the number of followers they have.
88 percent of people say they were influenced by an Instagram influencer to make a purchase. Shoppers who engage with influencers are most likely to engage with pictures (78%) and stories (73%).
Sources: (Ghostdata) (WSJ) (Wired) (PetalCard)
The top ranks of Instagram are dominated by people who are involved in the music, sports, and entertainment industries, aside from the official profile, which is also the most followed account. Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian have used Instagram and other social media to increase their reputation and money.
Below is the list of the top 20 most-followed people on Instagram as of December 2022:
Instagram’s Username | Profile Name (Owner) | Followers | Profession |
@cristiano | Cristiano Ronaldo | 617 million | Footballer |
@leomessi | Lionel Messi | 497 million | Footballer |
@selenagomez | Selena Gomez | 429 million | Musician, actress, producer, and businesswoman |
@kyliejenner | Kylie Jenner | 399 million | Television personality, model, and businesswoman |
@therock | Dwayne Johnson | 395 million | Actor and professional wrestler |
@arianagrande | Ariana Grande | 380 million | Musician and actress |
@kimkardashian | Kim Kardashian | 364 million | Television personality, model, and businesswoman |
@beyonce | Beyoncé | 319 million | Musician, actress, producer, and businesswoman |
@khloekardashian | Khloé Kardashian | 311 million | Television personality and model |
@nike | Nike | 306 million | Sportswear multinational |
@Kendalljenner | Kendall Jenner | 294 million | Model and television personality |
@justinbieber | Justin Bieber | 292 million | Musician |
@natgeo | National Geographic | 283 million | Magazine |
@taylorswift | Taylor Swift | 279 million | Musician |
@virat.kohli | Virat Kohli | 265 million | Cricketer |
@jlo | Jennifer Lopez | 253 million | Musician and actress |
@nickiminaj | Nicki Minaj | 229 million | Musician |
@kourtneykardash | Kourtney Kardashian | 224 million | Television personality and model |
@neymarjr | Neymar | 218 million | Footballer |
@mileycyrus | Miley Cirus | 216 million | Musician and actress |
Instagram’s most-liked post until 20 December 2022 was Chris Godfrey’s photo of an egg. There was a post showing Lionel Messi celebrating the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which exceeded them all.
Let us take a look at Instagram’s top 15 most-liked posts of all time:
Rank | Account Owner | Post Description | Number of Likes |
1 | Lionel Messi | Photos of Lionel Messi and his teammates after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina | 75.6 million |
2 | Chris Godfrey | Photo of an egg | 60.16 million |
3 | Lionel Messi | Photos of Lionel Messi in bed with the FIFA World Cup Trophy | 54.6 million |
4 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Photo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing chess, advertising for Louis Vuitton | 42.6 million |
5 | Lionel Messi | Photo of Lionel Messi on an airplane with the FIFA World Cup Trophy | 41.9 million |
6 | Cristiano RonaldoAl Nassr FC | Announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Al Nassr FC | 34.3 million |
7 | Lionel Messi | Celebrating the 2022 FIFA World Cup win in Argentina | 34.3 million |
8 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Photo after 2022 FIFA World Cup elimination | 34.12 million |
9 | Leonel Messi | Photo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo playing chess, advertising for Louis Vuitton | 32.8 million |
10 | XXXTentacion | This final post before his death | 32.4 million |
11 | Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez | Their twin’s pregnancy announcement | 32.35 million |
12 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Post in remembrance of Pelé | 32.2 million |
13 | Lionel Messi | Photos after 2022 FIFA World Cup match against Croatia | 29.6 million |
14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Ronaldo is being celebrated by fans after joining Al Nassr FC. | 27.9 million |
15 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Ronaldo played a friendly game between football clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Riyadh ST XI. | 27.8 million |
Additional statistics reveal interesting insights:
The introduction of Instagram Stories in 2016, featuring Boomerang and GIPHY stickers, has significantly contributed to increased user engagement.
Source: (Instagram) (eMarketer)
Over 90% of Instagram users follow at least one brand, making it a prime platform for building brand connections. Instagram regularly introduces new business features, and you can find guidance through their dedicated Instagram for Business account.
Take a look at some of the latest Instagram insights:
An Instagram posting schedule for each day of the week can be found in the table below:
Day | Ideal Time to Post | Peak Engagement Time |
Monday | 6 Am, 10 Am, 10 Pm. | 11 Am to 2 Pm. |
Tuesday | 2 Am, 4 Am, 9 Am. | 10 Am to 3 Pm. |
Wednesday | 7 Am, 8 Am, 9 Am. | 11 Am to 1 Pm. |
Thursday | 7 Am, 8 Am, 11 Pm. | 1 Pm to 3 Pm. |
Friday | 5 Am, 1 Pm, 3 Pm. | 10 Am to 11 Am. |
Saturday | 11 Am, 7 Pm, 8 Pm. | 10:00 am |
Sunday | 7 Am, 8 Am, 4 Pm. | Around Noon. |
It’s essential to keep in mind that these optimal posting times may not be suitable for everyone. Before determining your ideal posting schedule, consider the following factors:
Note: Sundays are the days with the lowest user engagement, so avoid publishing on Sundays.
It might affect your engagement if you have followers from different nations or even different coasts of the United States.
Using the Instagram insights feature is the simplest way to handle this, which provides free statistics to all users with professional accounts.
To access it,
Your posts can be arranged around the top engagement periods by studying the data above and determining what time zone your users are in! Isn’t that easy?
Sources: (SproutSocial) (HubSpot)
Instagram is a place where everything changes! Keeping up with the latest trends is the key to making your presence felt by the majority of the audience. To make the most of your Instagram campaigns in 2024, you need to look into and implement these major Instagram trends!
Trend #1: Reels, Reels, and more Reels.
In almost every social media platform, short-form video content is the most engaging. TikToks are dying a slow death thanks to Instagram reels, which began in 2019. The fact is that Instagram users interact with reels every time they visit the platform.
Trend #2: A paid advertisement may be the answer!
Utilize Instagram ads to tap into the dynamic Instagram algorithm and effectively expand the visibility of your business or brand to a vast audience. According to a survey conducted by Datareportal, Instagram advertising has the potential to connect with a staggering 1.38 billion individuals.
Trend #3: A dance and meme transformation is underway.
Instagram’s 2022 trend report highlights that one-third of its youthful user base is enthusiastic about witnessing additional dancing challenges in the coming year. As for memes, they have been a constant presence, serving as an opportunity to propel your account to greater heights.
Hopefully, this comprehensive analysis of Instagram’s statistics will help you leverage the platform’s potential in your upcoming campaigns. It is important to remember that each audience is unique and requires tailored approaches. Test different strategies, analyze the results, and adjust your tactics accordingly. With the right strategy, Instagram can become a powerful tool for your business.
Arushi is a proficient SEO and ASO specialist with a 5-year track record working for B2B and B2C organizations. Currently, she is heading SEO strategy for Vaizle and helping businesses improve their online presence. A mountain girl at heart, she likes to recharge her creative abilities by taking long walks and listening to podcasts.