Instagram was once known purely for filtered photos of food and selfies! But the Facebook (sorry, Meta) owned social media platform is now a powerhouse for sharing and consuming images and video. It’s also a key platform for advertising for some of the world’s biggest brands.
But just how BIG is Instagram? We’ve taken a look at the figures that matter in 2023 and present our Instagram Statistics round up for 2023.
Instagram statistics of 2023: a reel-y quick run through
For those of us who like our information in 15 seconds or less, here are the most important facts we found, with further detail within:
- Instagram is the second most-used social media platform in the UK, after Facebook.
- 39% of UK adults login to Instagram at least once a month.
- More than half (56.5%) of 16-24 year-olds use Instagram on a regular basis.
- Women are almost twice as likely to use Instagram than men.
- Instagram generated an estimated $51.4 billion in ad revenue in 2023
How many people use Instagram 2023?
Launched in 2010, the social networking site Instagram has had billions of users over the last decade. Providing users with the ability to instantly share images, videos and even live-streamed content with their followers, the speed at which the free app gained popularity will come as no surprise.
But with so many competing apps that offer similar features – just how popular is Instagram in 2023? To find out, we polled 2,010 UK adults in March 2023 using the market research company, Censuswide.
We asked:
What social media platforms are you active on, if any? (Tick all that apply) Note: Please interpret ‘active’ as having a profile and logging in at least monthly
Select the social media platforms you use at least once a month:
The findings revealed that:
- Instagram is the second most-used social media platform in the UK, after Facebook.
- 39% of UK adults login to their Instagram accounts at least once a month.
- As of 2023, Instagram has over twice as many users as Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Reddit.
Instagram demographics in 2023
As well as asking how often they use each form of social media, we also asked participants for their gender, age and which UK city and region they live in. This allowed us to identify which demographics use the app most frequently.
Do men or women use Instagram the most?
A study conducted in 2015 by researchers at Pew Research Centre found that women are far more likely to engage in photo-heavy social media sites than men. But is this still true in 2023?
Our survey findings revealed that:
- Women are almost twice as likely to use Instagram than men in 2023.
- 65% of women say they use Instagram at least once a month.
- Whilst just 35% of men say the same.
Which age groups are the most likely to use Instagram?
With the rise of new social media platforms, dating apps and other forms of digital communication continually rising, are young people still the core demographic for sites such as Instagram?
To find out, we analysed our survey’s findings, which revealed that Instagram is indeed most popular amongst the younger generations:
- Young adults use Instagram the most, with 56.5% of 16-24 year-olds using the app on a monthly basis as a minimum.
- 25-34 year-olds are the second most likely to use Instagram on a monthly basis, with 54.3% of those within this age group stating that they do so.
- The older we get, the less likely we are to use Instagram, wth just over half of 35-44 year-olds using the app.
- The figures reduce further in older generations, with 38.4% of 45-55 year-olds and just 21% of 55 and overs being active users of Instagram.
Does Instagram popularity vary by UK region?
As we know, Instagram usage differs greatly depending on factors such as gender and age. But how about location? Does the area we live in have an impact on how likely we are to use certain social media sites? And if so, by how much?
To find out just that, we asked each of our survey’s participants which UK region they live in. This enabled us to discover that:
- People living in and around London use Instagram far more than people in any other UK region.
- In fact, more than half of Londoners say they use Instagram at least once per month (53.3%)
- This is followed by Northern Ireland, where over 45% of people login to the gram each month, then the East Midlands, where almost 42% of people use the app monthly.
- People living in the North East on the other hand are the least likely to use Instagram on a regular basis, as just 29.6% say they use the app.
- Those in Wales also spend the least time on the app, as less than a third of people use Instagram regularly (30.9%).
How about Instagram popularity by city?
Which UK cities show the most demand for the Instagram app? To find out, we analysed Google search volumes for ‘Instagram’ using the tool Keyword Finder, taking a look at the number of searches from the 50 most populous cities in the United Kingdom.
We conducted the analysis on 24th March 2023, and looked specifically at the number of searches each month (based on an average of the last 12 months) from each of the 50 cities.
We then weighted this by the population figure for that city and calculated the number of searches per 1,000 people per month.
The findings revealed that:
- More people search online for ‘Instagram’ each month in Slough than any other town or city in the UK, as an impressive 189 searches are conducted for every 1,000 of the population. That’s the equivalent of almost 1 in 5 people!
- Following in close second is Manchester, where 161 in every 1,000 people search for ‘Instagram’ each month.
- Cambridge and Leeds follow in 3rd and 4th places, with Scottish cities Edinburgh and Glasgow also featuring in the top 6.
Methodology: We took the average monthly search volume for each town and city and divided it by the location’s population to find the number of searches per person. We then multiplied this by 1,000 which revealed the number of searches per 1,000 people in each town and city.
Which countries around the world show the most interest in Instagram?
We revisited Google search data to find out how many people (per 1,000 head of the population) search Google for “Instagram” every month (based on average monthly searches over the last 12 months up to February 2022).
Here’s what we found:
- Turkey is the place where people are likeliest to search for “Instagram” on Google with 312.86 searches per 1,000 people per month
- Uruguay (214.74 starches per 1,000 people per month) and Grenada (205.68)
Here are the top 50 countries based on searches in Google for “Instagram” weighted by population:
No of course, this is based only on people searching for Instagram in Google. Let’s not forget to take into account:
- Not all users will search for Instagram online – many will simply open the app on their smartphone
- Searches are an estimated number
The UK doesn’t make the top 50 in terms of searches per 1,000. However, there are 5.6 million searches in Google UK every month for “Instagram”.
The most followed Instagram accounts in 2023
It’s clear that Instagram’s reach travels far and wide, with people all over the world checking the app on a regular basis to keep up to date with the latest posts from those they follow, and from new accounts. But which Instagram accounts have the most followers in 2023?
It turns out that, as of March 2023, the most-followed accounts are:
Instagram Revenues
Instagram advertising is big business. According to a recent report, Instagram generated and estimated $51.4 billion in revenue in 2022. This means that, based on figures from Meta, Instagram was responsible for 44% of Meta’s entire revenue last year.
Let’s not forget that the ad revenues going directly to Instagram aren’t the only revenues that the platform contributes to. Recent influencer marketing statistics show that industry is also expected to reach a valuation of over $140 billion by 2023.
Facebook vs Instagram vs TikTok in 2023
Amongst younger people, Instagram now has more active users than Facebook does in the UK based on our survey data. But that’s not to say that the platform is the only one. In fact, Instagram is facing competition from Tiktok, which has almost as many at-least-monthly users amongst younger age groups.
Take a look at the data:
- Facebook remains the most popular social media platform in the UK amongst those aged 35 and over by quite a distance
- It’s very tight between Instagram and Facebook (both Meta owned platforms) for the 25 to 34 year olds
- But amongst the 16 to 24s, both Instagram and TikTok are more widely used at least monthly by quite a way
- Over half of 16 to 24s login to both Instagram and TikTok monthly – and it’s very close between the two for which is most popular
The Future of Instagram?
Meta’s photo and video sharing platform is going nowhere. With so many millions logging in so frequently and ad revenues such a key part of Meta’s business revenue, the future is looking largely very bright for the app, particularly given that it’s a firm favourite with younger users.
