Today, several social networking sites maintain and enhance their already growing popularity. The leading platforms are Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.
As technology extends to the farthest corners of the globe, the number of TikTok users has surged dramatically in recent years.
Today, we will explore TikTok user statistics, as it is the most downloaded app in both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. Let’s examine how many people use TikTok.
Table of Contents
How Many People Use TikTok?
Currently, TikTok data shows that there are over 1.64 billion accounts on the platform, with 1 billion users engaging with the app daily. Industry leaders predict that the app will reach 2 billion accounts by the end of 2022. This positions TikTok as the second most popular app of 2022, right after WhatsApp.
TikTok Statistics
Several sources were utilized to obtain the TikTok usage figures presented in this text. These include Statista, Sensor Tower, Pew Research, and Business of Apps.
1. TikTok vs. Other Apps
The following figures pertain to October 2021 and represent the number of active users. Among the most popular social media platforms, Facebook leads with 2.9 billion active users. TikTok ranks 7th with 1 billion monthly active users, while its Chinese counterpart follows closely with 600 million users.
TikTok is a relatively young platform that has experienced a rapid and significant rise over the past few years. Statistics clearly illustrate this growth. A graph depicting the growth of social networks between 2019 and 2021 shows TikTok in first place, with an increase of 38% in its monthly active users.
In comparison, Facebook, still regarded as the most popular social network, ranks fourth with a growth of only 19% during this same time period.
A similar ranking applies to the duration of an average session, based on a survey from September 2019. TikTok leads with nearly 11 minutes per session, while Facebook ranks fourth, with users spending less than 5 minutes browsing content.
An intriguing set of statistics reveals the most popular social media sites among teenagers in the USA. While we lack data for 2021, we will present the findings from 2012 to 2020. In 2012, the most popular social media site was Facebook, with 42% of teenagers reporting this preference.
The runner-up was Twitter, with 27%. Over the years, the popularity of both apps has declined, reaching 2% and 3%, respectively, in 2020. In the most recent survey, the rankings are Snapchat (34%), TikTok (29%), and Instagram (25%), with all other apps favored by 3% or fewer of the surveyed teenagers.
TikTok has experienced a remarkable surge in popularity, having been named the favorite app by just 4% of people in 2019. It achieved a 25% increase.
According to Morning Consult, TikTok ranked third among the brands with the fastest growth in 2020. In January of that year, it had a growth rate of 10%, which increased to 17% by November. This 7% rise places it behind only two brands: Zoom and Peacock.
2. TikTok Users Over Time
Since the inception of Douyin and TikTok, both platforms have experienced continuous growth. We will illustrate this rise by presenting the number of monthly active users in the second quarter of each respective year.
Douyin: In 2017, it had 105 million users. This number more than doubled to 220 million the following year and increased to 320 million in 2019. By 2020, there were 600 million monthly active users. These figures reflect the app’s exclusive use in China.
To transition to the international app, TikTok statistics reveal the following: in 2017, when it was a new phenomenon online, 65 million people used it globally. The numbers continued to double in the subsequent years—133 million in 2018, 381 million in 2019, and 700 million in 2020. By 2021, the app had reached 1 billion monthly active users, and in 2022, it surpassed a billion.
3. How Many People Use TikTok Around the World
TikTok is the most downloaded app globally. Considering the 4.8 billion internet users worldwide, approximately one-fifth (20.83%) are on TikTok and Douyin.
Regional Distribution
Let’s examine TikTok’s growth in different regions across the globe.
The app’s popularity is lowest in Latin America. In 2018, only 3 million people used it. TikTok increased this number to 10 million in 2019, and then it grew more than sixfold in 2020, reaching 64 million users.
Next comes Europe. In 2018, there were 21 million active users, which increased to 52 million the following year and nearly doubled to 98 million in the year after that.
North America comes next. If you’re curious about the number of users on TikTok using their iOS and Android devices, here are the figures. We will start with 2018, which had 28 million users. In 2019, that number rose to 55 million, and in 2020, it exceeded 105 million.
This app is undoubtedly the most popular in Southeast Asia. During the same period, this TikTok region saw a significant increase in users. In 2018, there were 62 million active users from that part of the world. In 2019, that number rose to 130 million. By 2020, 198 million people were using this app multiple times daily.
Countries with the Highest Number of TikTok Users
The US is undoubtedly the country with the largest user base. In 2020, there were 65.9 million users in this country. Below is a list of the 10 countries with the most TikTok users in 2020.
4. The Downloaded App
Throughout 2017, the number of TikTok downloads was below 50 million. A rapid increase occurred in the following year, with over 200 million downloads by the end of 2018. The next surge happened in the first half of 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many countries imposed isolation measures for their residents. During this period, TikTok downloads surpassed 300 million. The second half of 2020 and 2021 maintained a steady rate of approximately 200 million downloads.
It is an interesting fact that over 90% of all downloads occur from Google Play Store. Google Play is utilized on Android devices, allowing us to identify the most popular operating system among TikTok users. The only country where Apple devices dominate is the US, where many adults and children own these smartphones.
In May 2021 alone, this app was downloaded 80 million times. While this is not a record, it is important to consider that India, one of the largest TikTok markets, is not included in these figures. It was the most downloaded non-gaming app in both Apple’s and Google Play Stores. (The record was set in March 2020 during the isolation period, when it was downloaded 115 million times).
Cumulative Downloads
You may wonder how many downloads have occurred globally. Sensor Tower provided us with this data.
We will present the cumulative number of downloads over a four-year period. In 2017, there were approximately 130 million TikTok downloads. In 2018, there were 750 million; in 2019, 1.5 billion; and in 2020, a total of 2.6 billion downloads.
The milestone of 1 billion downloads was achieved in February 2019, followed by the next milestone of 2 billion in December 2020. It appears that the three-billion milestone is not too far off.
5. The Growing Popularity of TikTok in October 2021
One factor indicating the rising or falling popularity of an app is the number of TikTok downloads. While downloads may signify new TikTok users, even existing users occasionally download the app again when they switch devices. We will examine the increase in TikTok app downloads as reflected in the latest figures from October 2021.
First, let’s analyze the statistics for the Apple App Store. The highest increase in app downloads occurred in Nigeria, with a rise of 62.6%. This indicates that, compared to the previous month, the number of Nigerians who downloaded TikTok from Apple’s store was 62% higher in October 2021. The next country was Austria, with a 30.4% increase, followed by Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Hungary, with rises of 23.3%, 22.8%, and 19.6% respectively.
The data for Google’s app store is even more impressive; here are the top 5 countries. First is Nigeria, with a 119.1% increase, followed by Canada, which saw a 108.3% rise in the number of people using the TikTok app on their devices. The next three countries, with increases of 36.9%, 35.6%, and 34.7%, are Hungary, Spain, and Poland, respectively.
From all this, we can conclude that TikTok has become an immensely popular social media app for both iOS and Android users in Nigeria, particularly in October 2021.
6. What Is the Age Distribution of TikTok Users?
It is widely recognized and easily understood that the younger the individuals, the more TikTok users there are. According to a March 2021 survey of US users of this social media platform, precisely one-quarter of all TikTok users fall within the 10-19 age group.
69% of all teenagers in the US use TikTok. The following three age groups—20-29, 30-39, and 40-49—account for between 20% and 23%, while the remaining 11% of users are older than 50.
It may be somewhat surprising that the percentages are fairly evenly distributed among the age groups. This suggests that we should consider TikTok as a platform for a broad audience, not just for young people.
In Japan, the age groups with the highest number of TikTok accounts are teenagers (15%) and individuals in their 40s (12%).
TikTok continues to be the most popular app among users as they age. Comparisons over time indicate that individuals do not feel they have outgrown TikTok when they reach their 20s, for instance.
This is evident from the TikTok statistics in Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, where there are more users aged 25 to 34 than those aged 16 to 24.
7. Gender of TikTok Users
You might believe that hot guys dominate TikTok, but data suggests otherwise. Female users are in the majority—nearly 60% of users are TikTok thots, consisting of girls and women. The male demographic accounts for about 40%.
The Pew Research of 2021 indicated that among US adults (over 18 years of age), 24% of women and 17% of men use TikTok.
In Japan, the gender distribution is relatively balanced. Prior to the ban in India, the overwhelming majority—over 90% of users—were male, typically around 20 years old.
In March 2019, the user demographics of China’s Douyin comprised 59% male users and 41% female users. By March of the following year, this trend had reversed, with 43% of users identifying as male and 57% as female.
8. How Much Time Do Users Spend on TikTok?
It is also interesting to observe how much time people spend browsing and watching videos. A study examining the average engagement rate in the United States from October 2019 to March 2020 reveals the following figures (the average number of minutes one user spent on TikTok during the specified month):
On average, a TikTok user spends approximately 52 minutes each day browsing the app and watching TikTok videos.
Country-wise, the individuals who spend the most time on this social network are from the US and Poland, averaging 68 minutes on TikTok each day. Following them are the UK and France, with an average of 60 minutes.
When discussing children aged 4 to 15, a Qstudio survey on children’s screen time, which included Spain, the UK, and the US from February 2019 to April 2020, revealed that children spend 75 minutes on TikTok each day.
The number increases to 87 when we focus solely on the US. This study found that TikTok is the most popular app among this age group, with 41% of children identifying it as their favorite. Consequently, TikTok is also the app that parents most frequently block.
As many as 90% of users return to this app multiple times each day, with the average person visiting the app 8 times daily.
9. What Do People Watch on TikTok?
What people watch is another aspect that interested surveyors. Let’s examine what they discovered – the top 10 most-watched categories based on hashtag views:
TikTok ads have become a common feature in some influencers’ videos. This significantly boosts the purchase of various items, prompting many sellers to create content and participate in others’ content.
Not only do people watch TikTok videos, but they also create them—approximately 83% of TikTok users have posted at least one video on their account.
10. What Do People Use TikTok For?
Most TikTok videos are entertaining for users of the platform.
Many TikTok influencers utilize the platform for advertising campaigns. This approach has proven to be highly profitable for sellers, as many individuals trust influencers and opt to purchase the products they promote.
Some young people utilize this social media app for political activism. This occurred in Indonesia, where individuals protested against a labor law.
What Happened with TikTok in India?
India was, after China, the largest market for TikTok, with an estimated 200 million users. From July 2019 to June 2020, India recorded the highest number of TikTok downloads.
In 2019, there was a temporary ban on TikTok due to concerns that inappropriate content might reach young users. Despite the ban, there were 99 million downloads. Nonetheless, estimates suggest that approximately 15 million potential new users chose not to join the platform because of it.
However, since June 2020, this app has been permanently unavailable in India. The ban on TikTok has resulted in a significant loss of users for the company. The reasons for this ban stem from political issues related to the border between India and China.
Conclusion
TikTok is the most downloaded app of its kind. TikTok videos from across the globe have contributed to its remarkably swift growth. The increasing number of users worldwide ensured that even the loss of its largest market, India, did not significantly impact its statistics.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, claims that TikTok has reached 1 billion active users each month.
Data from Sensor Tower estimates that this app was downloaded over 3 billion times, surpassing any other app in the combined first and second quarters of 2021. TikTok statistics are indeed impressive.
