27+ WhatsApp User Statistics that Prove WhatsApp Business is the Future of Communication
If you’re not visiting from another planet, chances are you have WhatsApp installed on your mobile phone. WhatsApp popularity is not a surprise. In this deep dive, we get into the real story of WhatsApp, its growth in users over the years, the role of WhatsApp in business, as well as the most important WhatsApp user statistics you need to know!
Today in 2024, WhatsApp is still the most popular messaging app in the world & the 4th most popular social media app - following Facebook, YouTube & Instagram. Read along & find answers to your burning questions - how many users are on WhatsApp, what country uses WhatsApp the most & everything about WhatsApp business too!
Before we jump into key statistics, facts & figures, let us tell you the story of when WhatsApp launched & how it came to be.
The History of WhatsApp
The origins of WhatsApp aren’t the usual startup scenario involving students dropping out of college to develop their idea, build a product & get pre-seed funding from giants like Google & Facebook. The founders of WhatsApp were already in their thirties & had well-paid jobs with a renowned company when they decided to take a bet on what today has become the most popular messaging app in the world.
Source: Inc.
Early in 2009, Jan Koum & Brian Acton conceptualized & developed a status update application (hence the name WhatsApp). In the beginning, that was all the app was meant to do - let users update their whereabouts & ping each of their friends with statuses like - “Having a coffee” or “Can’t talk, I’m in a meeting.”
Very soon, users started having fun with the app and began chatting with each other through statuses. Someone would post “How are you, @Jim?” & Jim would answer by changing his status. This led to an update of the application which transformed it into the Instant Messaging Application billions of people love to use today.
Facebook, realizing the app’s potential, acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for a staggering $19 billion & later introduced the WhatsApp Business app which lets brands build their business profiles & integrate the WhatsApp Business API with their product offering. This enabled businesses to interact with their customers as well as sell & market their products & services.
Key WhatsApp Statistics
- WhatsApp is available in 180+ countries & 16 languages;
- It’s the most popular messaging app in over 100 countries;
- Downloaded over 5 billion times on iOS & Android;
- 2.7 billion active users worldwide;
- Over 100 billion messages & 100 million voice calls daily are sent on WhatsApp;
- India has the highest number of active WhatsApp users in the world, with an estimated 535.8 million monthly active users.
Sources: Statista, Bloggingwizard, Skillademia
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WhatsApp Revenue
WhatsApp contributes a small part of Facebook’s revenue. It generates almost all of it from WhatsApp for Business, which charges businesses for usage after 1,000 conversations.
In 2021, WhatsApp generated $8.7 billion in revenue, almost all from the WhatsApp Business App. In 2023, WhatsApp Business made an estimated $382 million - of which $155 million came only from Asia. Europe was the second highest - spending around $90 million on the messaging app.
Monthly Active WhatsApp Users
Since early 2013, WhatsApp has gained 200 million active users & the daily message volume continued to climb. After it was acquired by Facebook in 2014, WhatsApp’s active user base saw an immense 365% increase - from 465 million to 2 billion monthly users.
After reaching 2 billion monthly active users in February 2022, the leading communication channel is projected to reach almost 3 billion unique active users worldwide in June 2024 - up by 7% compared to June 2023.
WhatsApp currently boasts the highest open rate among nearly all social media apps. Research shows that 83% of active WhatsApp users open the app every day, placing it considerably ahead of its next nearest rival - Facebook.
Number of WhatsApp Messages Sent Daily
With over 100 billion messages exchanged daily, it’s no surprise the growth in number of WhatsApp messages sent globally over the years is quite exponential. This graph shows a brief overview of its growth in the volume of daily messages.
Sources have reported that there has been an increase of almost 55% in the number of messages sent on WhatsApp since 2018 - and this growth shows no signs of slowing down.
Time Spent on WhatsApp
From 2023, users worldwide spent 17 hours using WhatsApp every month. Research shows the average Android user spends around 33.5 minutes on WhatsApp daily. Between the start of the pandemic & March 2020, WhatsApp recorded a spike of 40% increase in time spent on the app.
Here are some figures representing the average number of hours in 2023 spent on WhatsApp daily per country to put things into perspective:
- Indonesia - 29 hours
- Brazil - 28 hours
- Australia - less than 6 hours
- United States - 7.3 hours
Source: Statista
WhatsApp Demographics
- Used daily by 54% of millennials & over a 1/3 of baby boomers
- 30% of WhatsApp users are aged between 30 & 49
- 33% of WhatsApp users are college graduates
- 22% iOS users & 73% Android users
WhatsApp Gender Demographics
Regarding WhatsApp gender demographics, there’s a clear distribution of users with 52.8% of recorded WhatsApp Users being male & the rest being female.
Top Countries Using WhatsApp
The growth of WhatsApp Users worldwide is uncanny. However, some countries & areas of the world have dominated the use of the app. With 535.8 million active users, India is, by far, the country with the largest number of WhatsApp users.
- India - 535.8 million
- Brazil - 139.3 million
- United States - 91.3 million
- Indonesia - 86.9 million
- Mexico - 69.7 million
- Russia - 66.7 million
- Pakistan - 52.3 million
- Germany - 51.9 million
- Philippines - 51.2 million
- Nigeria - 51 million
Source: Skillademia
Top Territories Using WhatsApp
1. Latin America (LATAM)
Many Latin American countries rank in the top 20 for WhatsApp usage. Mobile Growth Association (MGA) believes this is due to issues like uncompetitive mobile carriers and high costs of texting and calling. In some countries, like Colombia, providers offer unlimited WhatsApp use as part of their plans.
For many, the high costs of texting and calling are unaffordable. WhatsApp is a cheaper alternative, letting people communicate freely via WiFi. It helps them avoid the high mobile data costs common in many LATAM nations.
In Latin America, WhatsApp is essential for daily communication and has mostly replaced texting. It’s ideal for the developing world, where less developed carriers increase reliance on the app.
2. Middle East (MENA Region)
Chat channels are becoming more popular in the Middle East. WhatsApp and Snapchat make up 10% of all mobile data traffic. This number is expected to grow. Research by Northwestern University in Qatar shows that 75% of nationals in seven countries—Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and UAE—already use WhatsApp.
3. Asia
According to We Are Social, the Asia-Pacific region has 2.14 billion active social media users, a 50% penetration rate. WhatsApp is popular in countries like Hong Kong and Indonesia, where 87% of internet users use it monthly. In Singapore, 73% of the population uses WhatsApp daily.
Areas Newly Adopting WhatsApp
1. Africa
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in most African countries, with high penetration rates across the continent. In Kenya, 97% use it, 96% in South Africa, and 95% in Nigeria. In Zimbabwe, WhatsApp accounts for nearly 44% of all mobile internet use.
2. USA
WhatsApp started in the USA, but it had only 75 million users in 2020. This number is expected to reach nearly 86 million by 2023. Among US ethnic groups, Hispanic Americans use WhatsApp the most (46%), followed by African Americans (23%) and Caucasians (16%), according to the Pew Research Center.
When Was WhatsApp Business App Launched?
In 2018, WhatsApp launched the WhatsApp Business App, designed to help companies manage business profiles & interact with customers better. This version of the app enables entrepreneurs to use messaging tools, categorization options & a WhatsApp Business Profile to grow their businesses.
Appfigures wrote that as of October 2023, WhatsApp Business was downloaded 21 million times across Google Play & App Store. 18 million of these downloads came from Android users, while the remaining 3 million were iOS users.
Key WhatsApp Business Statistics
- In its 1st year, over 5 million user accounts were created.
- As of 2023, WhatsApp Business has been downloaded 316 million times, up by 14% compared to the previous year.
- In 2023, the number of global consumers & companies using WhatsApp Business was estimated to surpass 1.5 billion users.
- As of July 2023, WhatsApp Business had approximately 200 million monthly active users worldwide.
When Was WhatsApp Business Platform Launched?
The WhatsApp Business Platform is designed for businesses that need more advanced tools to communicate with their customers at scale. Unlike the WhatsApp Business app, the API allows companies to integrate WhatsApp messaging capabilities directly into their customer communication platforms.
The following statistics - reported by businesses in different sectors - further strengthen the value of WhatsApp for businesses:
- 225% faster customer service
- 99.4% reduced time to complete an order
- 60% cost reduction with fewer paper statements delivered
- 21% increase in net promoter score
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How Many Businesses Use WhatsApp Business?
Today, over 50 million brands are using WhatsApp as a business tool & 175 million customers send messages or interact with a business account on WhatsApp on a day-to-day basis.
In terms of WhatsApp Business Monthly Active Users, the App recorded over 200 million monthly active users as of June 2023 - a huge increase from July of 2020.
Research has shown that people are much more likely to open a WhatsApp message than they are to open an email. With WhatsApp’s 98% open rate, it’s no wonder more people are shifting from email marketing to WhatsApp marketing.
WhatsApp Business Number of Downloads
In 2018, WhatsApp Business was downloaded 37.58 million times. The following year saw an increase of about 63 million downloads. By 2020, downloads had surged to over 175 million. In 2021, the app was downloaded 220.52 million times & this number grew by 31% or 69 million downloads.
In 2022, reaching approximately 292 million downloads across Android & iOS devices. The year 2023, marked the highest number of downloads yet, with an estimated 316 million globally, a 14% increase from 2022.
Top Countries by WhatsApp Business Downloads
India leads in WhatsApp Business usage with 291.58 million downloads. Indonesia is second with 73.12 million downloads & Brazil follows closely with 69.50 million. Pakistan, Nigeria & Egypt also have significant numbers, with downloads ranging from 16 to 48 million.
Conclusion
WhatsApp has changed the way we talk to each other and do business. It started as a simple app for messaging but has grown to include features that help businesses talk to customers. The WhatsApp user statistics presented in this article show its expansive reach and continual growth in features tailored for professional use.
WhatsApp is widely used because it’s easy to use and helps businesses improve their customer service. As the app keeps updating, it’s expected to remain a top choice for personal chats and business communications.
Looking ahead, WhatsApp will likely keep leading in the messaging world by adapting to users’ needs & introducing new features. This will help ensure it stays important for both everyday chats and professional use.
Frequently Asked Questions
As of 2024, WhatsApp boasts over two billion users worldwide, making it the most popular global mobile messenger app. This immense user base underscores WhatsApp’s dominance in the digital messaging space, offering unparalleled reach and engagement opportunities for individuals and businesses alike.
India holds the distinction of having the most WhatsApp users, with a staggering 535.8 million active users. This significant user base highlights India’s leading role in WhatsApp’s global adoption and its importance as a critical market for the app’s growth and usage.
Every day, over 100 billion messages are sent on WhatsApp globally. This staggering volume of daily communications highlights WhatsApp’s role as a critical platform for instant messaging and digital interaction among users worldwide.
WhatsApp was launched in February 2009 by Jan Koum and Brian Acton, who were former employees of Yahoo. The app initially started as a simple status update application before evolving into a comprehensive instant messaging service that allows users to exchange text messages, make voice and video calls, share images and documents, and much more. Over the years, WhatsApp has grown exponentially, adding new features and expanding its user base to become one of the most widely used messaging apps in the world.
As of 2024, WhatsApp has been downloaded over 5 billion times across Android and iOS platforms, underscoring its global popularity and widespread adoption.
WhatsApp is popular worldwide, with significant user bases in over 180 countries. It is particularly dominant in regions like India, Brazil, and various European countries, where it is used for both personal and business communication.
The countries with the highest number of WhatsApp users include India, Brazil, the United States, Indonesia, and Mexico. These nations collectively account for a significant proportion of WhatsApp’s global user base.
WhatsApp is most popular in India, where it has the largest number of active users. The app’s versatility and ease of use have made it a staple for communication in many other countries as well, including Brazil and the United States.
In 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for approximately $19 billion, marking one of the largest tech acquisitions at the time. This purchase allowed Facebook to significantly expand its messaging capabilities and user base globally.
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Tarek previously worked as a product engineer at Intercom. Prior to that, he travelled to live and work in numerous places around the world. He’s now living in a small fishing town in rural south Ireland, and enjoys the nature around.He climbs hills whenever he can, and enjoys the rare, but lovely Irish sunny days.
