Instant messaging apps have become the most popular way to communicate with friends, family, colleagues, and businesses.
But one app reigns supreme—WhatsApp the most widely used chat application on the globe!
In this post, we'll go over some amazing and fun WhatsApp statistics that every marketer should be aware of in 2022, if they want to explore this application’s potential as part of their company’s business plan.
Astonishing WhatsApp Stats to Keep in Mind in 2022
- There are currently over two billion WhatsApp users worldwide.
- WhatsApp exchanges about 100 billion messages daily.
- Female users account for 45.5% of WhatsApp's global user base.
- 500 million people communicate through WhatsApp every day.
- Each user sends an average of 1,200 messages via WhatsApp each month.
- WhatsApp delivers an estimated 200 million voice messages per day.
- WhatsApp has around 70 million users in the United States.
- 54% of Millennials and 51% of Generation Z use WhatsApp daily.
WhatsApp Users: Communicating Nonstop
Because of its simple layout, WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging apps in the world.
We at HostingTribunal took a look at some amazing WhatsApp facts that highlight its user base and how it’s ruling the messaging market.
1. WhatsApp was founded in 2009.
(Source: Newsjen)
Brian Acton and Jan Koum were former Yahoo employees. Together, they launched WhatsApp for iPhone in November 2009. Nine months later, it was released on Android.
Koum officially established WhatsApp Inc. in California on February 24, 2009.
2. About 100 billion messages are sent daily via WhatsApp.
(Source: Tech Crunch)
In early 2014, people exchanged around 50 billion WhatsApp messages per day. Two years later, 60 billion messages were traded together on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
As of 2020, WhatsApp delivers about 100 billion messages per day.
3. WhatsApp has over two billion active users globally.
(Source: Backlinko)
When Facebook purchased the messaging app in 2014, there were only 465 million WhatsApp monthly active users. As of 2020, that number had increased to more than two billion.
This means that in four years, WhatsApp added more than one billion people to its user base.
This is even more impressive if we consider that WhatsApp only had 10 million monthly active users back in 2010.
4. WhatsApp has more than 500 million daily active users.
(Source: Statista)
The number of WhatsApp daily active users has been steadily rising since 2017. In just two years, the count of daily active users worldwide went from 175 million to 500 million.
5. WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world.
(Source: Statista)
WhatsApp easily outperforms Facebook Messenger (1.3 billion) and WeChat (1.2 billion) in terms of monthly active users.
WhatsApp stats reveal that it’s also the third most popular social networking site in the world, just behind Facebook and YouTube.
6. During the pandemic, WhatsApp usage increased by at least 40%.
(Source: Tech Crunch)
WhatsApp experienced a 40% rise in usage in 2020. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Facebook-owned app had a 27% increase, which bumped up to 41% in the mid-phase.
WhatsApp interactions have increased by 51% in nations that are already in the later stages of the pandemic.
WhatsApp Users by Country: Scattered All Around the World
Although WhatsApp’s founders are from the United States, the app is not that popular among Americans. WhatsApp’s user base is spread across the globe.
Let’s take a quick look at some amazing WhatsApp statistics that highlight its popularity in different countries.
7. WhatsApp has around 70 million users in the United States.
(Source: Statista)
In 2019, 68.1 million mobile phone owners in the US chose WhatsApp as their go-to messenger app. As of 2018, only 12.1% of mobile users in the US had accessed WhatsApp.
For comparison, 56.8% of US mobile users had access to the Facebook Messenger app.
The number of WhatsApp users in the US is expected to rise to 85.8 million by 2023.
8. 23% of adults in the United States use WhatsApp.
(Source: Pew Research)
A survey conducted in February 2021 revealed that less than a quarter of the participants use WhatsApp.
According to the same survey, YouTube (81%) and Facebook (69%) are the most popular online platforms, followed by Instagram (40%). TikTok is used by 21% of adults.
9. WhatsApp is popular among internet users between the ages of 26 and 35.
(Source: Statista)
As of 2020, the people who use WhatsApp the most in the US are in the 26-35 age group (27%).
The survey indicated that 20% of US WhatsApp users were in the 36-45 age range; 19%, in the 15-25; and 17%, in the 46-55.
10. WhatsApp has more than 500 million users in India.
(Source: Entrackr)
Looking at WhatsApp usage by country, India stands firm with 530 million users.
How does that compare to other social media in the country?
Well, more than 400 million Indians use YouTube and Facebook, 210 million use Instagram and just 17.5 million use Twitter. So it’s fair to say that WhatsApp is the most popular social media app in India.
11. More than 100 million people in Brazil use WhatsApp.
(Source: Labs News)
Do you know just how many people use WhatsApp in Brazil?
Currently, there are at least 120 million Brazilians using the messaging app. This means that, if the countries around the world were ranked by the number of WhatsApp users, Brazil would take second place.
12. Almost everyone who owns a smartphone in Brazil uses WhatsApp.
(Source: Labs News)
Looking at the WhatsApp statistics in 2021, about 98% of the smartphone owners polled in Brazil claimed they had WhatsApp. Telegram came in second, with 45% of respondents having downloaded it.
Reports say that Brazilians check their phones at least 12 times each day to see if they have received a text message, voice message, photo, or video.
13. WhatsApp is the second most popular social media platform in Mexico.
(Source: Statista)
WhatsApp stats show that the messaging app is almost as popular in Mexico as it is in Brazil. The Facebook-owned platform is second in popularity only to, well, Facebook (95% vs 97%).
Instagram ranks third with 73% of users, according to a survey conducted in January 2021.
14. Germany has the most WhatsApp users among European countries.
(Source: Business Insider)
Have you ever wondered how many people are using WhatsApp in Europe?
Germany has the largest number of users (48.3 million). Next comes Italy with 35.5 million users followed by Spain with 33 million and the UK, with 30.1 million.
The WhatsApp user growth in France (16.6%) is significantly higher than in other European nations.
15. WhatsApp is prohibited or restricted in six countries.
(Source: Iharare)
WhatsApp is one of the most popular instant messaging apps of the 21st century, but have you ever wondered, where is WhatsApp not popular?
The messaging app is banned in China, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.
The reasons behind the ban vary between political and security concerns—except for Cuba, whose concerns are of economic nature.
Basically, the cost of accessing the internet in Cuba is so high that it exceeds the average wage of Cuban people. So, the local government restricted its usage.
16. There were more than 28 million WhatsApp downloads on iOS devices in Q1 2021.
(Source: Statista)
Looking at WhatsApp iOS statistics for the first quarter of 2021, 28.3 million iOS users worldwide downloaded the instant messaging app; 3.41 million of those come from the United States.
17. More than 30 million people downloaded WhatsApp on Android devices.
(Source: Backlinko)
In fact, WhatsApp ranked in second place as the messaging app with the most installations worldwide in January of 2021 (Telegram took first place). WhatsApp Android statistics reveal that there were 30.3 million downloads from the Google Play Store during that time.
WhatsApp Revenue: Some Exceptional Numbers
WhatsApp became a completely free app in 2016, after it dropped its $1 yearly fee. Then, in 2018, it launched WhatsApp Business—an instant messaging app designed specifically for commercial purposes (UX tracking and all).
Now, let’s take a quick look at some amazing WhatsApp statistics that highlight its revenue, number of employees, and how it ranks among its competitors.
18. Facebook paid $19 billion for WhatsApp.
(Source: Forbes)
Facebook recognized the potential of WhatsApp back in 2014, when it had fewer than 500 million monthly users. Then, Facebook estimated WhatsApp’s worth at $19 billion.
The deal was closed at Zuckerberg’s house with a bottle of Johnnie Walker.
19. WhatsApp only has 55 employees.
(Source: Connectiva Systems)
The number of WhatsApp employees might seem surprising. It’s difficult to imagine so few people handling all the operation, support, marketing, and coding for such a globally successful company.
Still, the organization allegedly has 55 corporate employees plus 50 people who work on the technical side of things.
The Facebook acquisition made most (if not all) of WhatsApp employees millionaires overnight.
20. WhatsApp generated more than $5 billion in revenue in 2020.
(Source: Business of Apps)
In the past six years, WhatsApp’s revenue has skyrocketed along with its user base.
The messaging giant’s revenue was only $1 million back in 2014, but by 2018, it had surpassed the $1 billion mark.
In 2020, WhatsApp generated an estimate of $5.5 billion.
21. WhatsApp Business has 50 million active users.
(Source: Tech Crunch)
It took the app just two years to reach 50 million users.
WhatsApp Business statistics show that India has the highest number of monthly active users (15 million), followed by Brazil (five million).
22. WhatsApp Business was downloaded 18 million times in January 2021.
(Source: Backlinko)
The latest WhatsApp Business stats reveal that 17 million of those downloads came from Android users. The remaining million came from iOS users.
23. WhatsApp’s user base is larger than Facebook Messenger’s.
(Source: Statista)
The WhatsApp vs Messenger competition is somewhat pointless, considering that Facebook owns them both. As of 2021, they are the two most popular mobile messaging apps worldwide. The third position is taken by WeChat with 1.2 billion active users.
(But, if we had to compare, WhatsApp has 700 million more active users than Messenger.)
24. WhatsApp’s competitor, Telegram, has 500 million active users.
(Source: Backlinko)
Telegram vs WhatsApp? Well, although Telegram has significantly fewer active users than WhatsApp, its active users have grown by 150% since 2018.
In fact, Telegram was the most downloaded app across both the Google Play Store and the App Store in the first month of 2021.
So, who knows? Telegram just might catch up.
25. WhatsApp lost millions of users in 2021.
(Source: The Guardian)
It’s hard to imagine WhatsApp popularity going downhill. Yet, thanks to the poorly explained update in privacy, WhatsApp lost millions of users to Telegram and Signal.
There has been no official number from WhatsApp, but looking at Signal's and Telegram’s performance at the beginning of the year, WhatsApp took quite a hit.
At the beginning of the year, 25 million people worldwide joined Telegram’s user base, while 7.5 million opted for Signal.
Wrap Up
That concludes our selection of WhatsApp statistics.
As a stand-alone business, the messaging app was already fairly popular, but thanks to Facebook, it has become the most popular mobile messaging app in the world.
WhatsApp can now be used in 60 different languages throughout 180 countries.
Only time will tell how much longer WhatsApp will continue to be on top of the instant messaging market.
As of now, things are still looking pretty good for Facebook’s acquisition.
Sources
Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.
