Instagram Statistics and Trends

Instagram’s audience hails from different regions of the globe and demographics. Boasting 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, Instagram is the third most popular social media platform, just behind Facebook and YouTube.

The latest Instagram statistics prove the photo-sharing platform’s success, with 2 billion monthly active users globally. These are the total Instagram accounts registered and logged in through the Instagram app or website within a month.

Furthermore, there are 500 million daily active users on Instagram. This staggering user base makes Instagram a competitive platform against Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp.

The demographics of Instagram’s user base is varied across all age groups, gender, and regions.

Understanding these Instagram statistics can provide valuable insights for targeted marketing and content creation on other platforms.

Instagram users worldwide fall under a wide range of ages. However, Instagram is especially popular with younger users, especially amongst the Gen Z age group.

In a Fall 2020 study, Instagram ranked third in terms of preferred social networks among teenagers in the United States, second to Snapchat and TikTok.

Approximately 62% of Instagram accounts are owned by users in the 18 to 34 age group, comprised of both Gen Z and Millennials.

Plus, 73% of teens in the United States say Instagram is where they prefer to check out new products and promotions. For marketers targeting this age group, Instagram can be an effective avenue for business and advertising.

The gender distribution of Instagram accounts is relatively balanced. Globally, 49.7% of Instagram users aged 18 and above are female, while 50.3% are male.

This balance makes Instagram a versatile platform for reaching a broad audience across genders.

Instagram statistics for geographic distributions prove the platform is far-reaching, with large numbers of Instagram accounts coming from both the East and West.

Here is the list of the top countries by Instagram users in 2024:
India – 360 million
United States – 169 million
Brazil – 134 million
Indonesia – 100.9 million
Turkey – 57.1 million
Japan – 55.45 million

On average, global users spend 29.7 minutes on Instagram on Android devices daily. That’s about 14 hours and 50 minutes per month per user.

In the United States, an average adult user spends 33.1 minutes on the platform daily.

While this may be a good amount of time, many social media users spend far more time on other apps like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.

However, this figure has been steadily increasing, particularly among younger social media users who often spend more time browsing through posts, stories, and reels.

Instagram users worldwide are highly active, with 63% logging in at least once daily. Moreover, 42% of users check the app multiple times per day.

Thanks to this frequent activity, Instagram remains the third leading social media website in the United States, following Facebook and Pinterest.

This frequent usage reflects Instagram’s role as a go-to social media platform for real-time updates and interactions.

Although Instagram started as a photo-sharing app, their Instagram Stories feature has captured users’ attention the most. Watching other people’s Instagram stories is the top user activity, with 42% favorability.

Other popular social media usage activities include:
Browsing the feed of Instagram accounts followed
Watching reels
Posting photos
Sending or receiving direct messages

Additionally, shopping via Instagram has become increasingly popular. In fact, 73% of online shoppers now turn to Instagram to discover new products.

Instagram users worldwide generate a high volume of content daily. On average, 1.3 billion photos are shared on the platform daily.

Although there’s no limit to how much content you should post daily, experts recommend posting 3-5 times per week consistently.

Ideally, focus on mixed media posts instead of one specific type.
You can choose to create photo posts, reels, stories, carousels and more.

Photos account for 69% of all content on the photo-sharing platform.

Carousel posts that allow multiple photos or videos in one post are also gaining traction, encouraging users to swipe through multiple pieces of content.

A 2023 survey found that the average reach for image posts is 2,002, and 2,641 for carousel posts. This increase compared to the previous year is indicative of how images remain a popular content choice.

Instagram engagement rates vary by post type. Here’s how they fare:
Carousel posts – 1.92%
Videos – 1.45%
Photos – 1.1%

These statistics highlight how dynamic and interactive content can better capture the attention of younger audiences.

Furthermore, carousels containing more than one image are more popular, receiving an average of 271 interactions compared to 117 interactions on single-image posts.

For Instagram business profiles, follower engagement with posts was 2.18%. Photo posts drew more interaction from page followers by 2.69%. Carousel posts on business pages generated 2.21%.

Instagram statistics have shown that the website experienced between 6.8 to 6.9 billion visits during the second half of 2023.

Completion rates for Instagram Stories vary, but on average, about 70% of users watch Stories all the way through.

Entertainment content experienced the most growth in 2020, with an 81% increase in completion. Sports-related material comes in second.

Brands and influencers that create engaging, concise Stories can leverage this feature to maintain viewer attention and drive higher engagement rates.

Among all social media marketing tools available, Stories comes third on the list, with Facebook ad tools in the lead.

According to a study, 50% of companies worldwide create at least one Instagram story monthly to boost brand recognition.

With 500 million Stories enthusiasts, 86.6% user posting rate, 60% Millennial viewership, and 61% usage of the “Support small businesses” sticker, brands should leverage the growing ad potential of this feature.

The above statistics indicate that Reels tend to generate higher engagement than regular Instagram video posts.

This increased engagement is due to their placement in the Explore tab and their ability to loop, making them more discoverable and frequently viewed.

On average, Instagram Reels get an engagement rate between 6.59% and 8.77%, depending on the number of followers a page has.

While according to TikTok statistics, TikTok remains the leader in short-form video content, Instagram Reels is favored for its seamless integration with other Instagram features and its accessibility to the platform’s existing user base.

However, users often note that TikTok offers more sophisticated editing tools and trends faster than Reels.

The key to harnessing the power of either TikTok or Reels is to consider your target audience.

For TikTok, these are the statistics you can compare against Reels:
52.38% of TikTok’s population worldwide are in the 18-24 age group.
62% of Gen Z use TikTok.
54.1% of global TikTok users are female, and 45.9% are male.

To compete with Twitter’s text-based content dominance, Instagram introduced Instagram Threads.

This new feature allows users to broadcast channels, notes, and polls in comments. Hashtags on Threads are a great way to encourage user engagement.

Hashtags are on all post types on Instagram. The most used hashtags with billions of usage instance include:
#love (2.1 billion)
#instagood (1.7 billion)
#fashion (1.1 billion)
#photooftheday (1 billion)
#beautiful (833 million)

Marketers hoping to gain visibility and reach a broader audience should include relevant and trending hashtags in their brand content.

Experts suggest 11 hashtags for a brand post. However, there is no ideal count. Generally, users include 1-3 hashtags per post.

To find the right mix of hashtags to use, consider the following hashtag types and how they can affect your post’s visibility:
popular – Immediate visibility, which can make your post discoverable within minutes
moderately popular – Longer visibility, which can make your post discoverable within hours
niche-specific – Hyper-targeted visibility
brand-specific – These hashtags are ideal if you want your post to be attributed to specific products and brands

Whether on Instagram Threads, Reels, or posts, trending topics and challenges are new and popular ways to drive cultural moments and viral content, often led by Instagram influencers and other types of celebrities.

Brands and Instagram influencers who participate in trends and challenges tend to see a significant boost in engagement and followers.

Instagram boasts over 200 million business accounts and counting. These Instagram statistics reflect the platform’s importance as a marketing tool.

These Instagram accounts range from small local businesses to large multinational corporations, all leveraging Instagram’s extensive reach to connect with potential customers and followers.

On average, social media marketers post 1.5 times daily on the platform, which is an ideal rate.

Overall, an account with 50 thousand followers to 45 million followers posted an average of 130 Instagram Stories weekly, 28 posts, and 19 Reels.

With that, Instagram’s median engagement rate is 0.43% across all industries. This is 6.8x higher than Facebook posts and 14.8x higher than a tweet.

No matter how many followers an account has, here are some best practices to consider:
Stick to a consistent posting schedule.
Utilize a mix of content types (images, videos, carousels, Stories, and Reels).
Tailor content to your target audience.
View account insights to optimize ads.

Post during peak hours. The best times to post on Instagram are Wednesdays from 9 AM and 4 PM, and Fridays at 11 AM.

With billions of Instagram users worldwide, brands across various industries are eager to tap into its vast potential.

Celebrities, music and entertainment companies, and sports players like Lionel Messi tend to generate the most liked posts and the highest number of reactions, comments, and shares.

The leading U.S. brand with the highest user engagement is The Shade Room, an entertainment media brand focusing on celebrity news.

Furthermore, on a global scale, Instagram and Spotify top the list of most loved brands on social media based on mentions and engagement.

Partnering with nano-influencers is key to optimizing the impact of Instagram on brand discovery. Most Instagram influencers are nano-influencers, i.e., those who have 1,000-10,000 followers. With 3.18% follower growth rate.

They make up 46.87% of Instagram’s influencer accounts. This group is followed by micro-influencers, at 61.28%. Micro-influencers have between 10,000-100,000 followers. With 4.10% follower growth rate.

Because of their influence on social media platforms, and their efforts at creating visually-driven content, these influencers become assets to brands that wish to showcase their products to new customers.

That said, Instagram is gradually expanding to become a commerce platform, rather than simply being a photo-sharing app.

A Yotpo study of 1,000 shoppers found that Instagram is where they discover new brands and products.

89% said they bought something they first saw on Instagram, and 56% said seeing Instagram photos of a product increases their chances of buying it.

Instagram Shopping has gained widespread popularity, with 130 million users tapping on shopping content monthly.

Shoppable posts create a seamless shopping experience, allowing users to discover, research, and purchase products without leaving the app.

Now, brands can tag their products on their Instagram posts and stories, like you would when tagging people. When a product is tagged, a shopping bag icon will appear. Users can then click on these products and purchase them in Instagram Checkout.

An Instagram account’s “explore” section can also be shoppable, further helping businesses gain new leads and increase conversions.

Instagram Shopping offers numerous benefits for businesses, including:
Increased visibility
Direct sales opportunities
Enhanced user engagement

Features such as product tags, shopping stickers, and the Shop tab enable enterprises to create a streamlined shopping experience that can drive conversions and revenue.

Influencer marketing on Instagram has grown exponentially, reaching 3.8 million brand-sponsored influencer posts in 2021.

Plus, with the market expected to grow from 13.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 to nearly twice that amount by 2025, brands know the trend is here to stay.

Due to influencers commanding trust from their followers, their recommendations are considered reliable. For businesses, this means you’d want an influencer’s post about your brand to count among some of their most-liked posts.

As the most used platform for influencer marketing, brands can leverage these numbers to reach prospective customers and higher purchase probability.

Engagement rates for influencer accounts vary depending on their number of followers.
Nano-influencers with 1,000 to 10,000 followers had the highest engagement rates in 2023 with 2.19%.
Mid-tier or Micro influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers had the lowest engagement.

Topic-wise, lifestyle, beauty, and music were the most popular among followers. On average, the engagement rate for all Instagram was 1.85% in the same year.

According to a recent report, the platform’s ad revenue is expected to hit $70.9 billion in 2024. Instagram’s revenue per user averages out at just over $50.

Instagram’s ad revenues from 2024 should represent a 16% increase from 2023’s total ad revenue of $61.1 billion.

2023 was also the first time the platform exceeded $60 billion in advertising revenue.

The growth of Instagram’s ad revenue is expected to continue its upward trajectory. Experts believe Instagram’s increasing annual ad revenues are a result of the following factors:
Enhanced social commerce features
Parent company Meta’s advancements in AI to support content recommendation
Advertising automation
Successful monetization of Instagram Reels

Plus, data reveals that Instagram Reels campaigns achieve almost double the audience reach compared to those on TikTok, despite facing stiff competition.

Combined, ads and influencers have contributed to the staggering 83% of consumers who use Instagram to find new goods and services.

Instagram stats on ads have a significant reach, with approximately 849.3 million social media users globally.

Because of frequent social media usage, 69% of Instagram marketers’ budgets go towards influencer marketing. These Instagram influencers typically have 1,000-100,000 followers who promote brands on their content.

The average click-through rate (CTR) for Instagram ads is around 0.94%, higher than the industry average for social media ads.

Additionally, the engagement rate for Instagram ads is about 1.08%. This indicates that social media users are not only seeing but also interacting with the ads.

As of 2023, Meta generated $121.90 billion in ad revenue. $50.58 billion of this figure came from Instagram ad revenue, while $71.32 billion came from Facebook ad revenue.