WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app on the planet (with over 3 billion monthly active users) and can be an excellent tool for businesses. In fact, brands can create ads through WhatsApp Business<\/a> and use WhatsApp for customer service to take advantage of the platform\u2019s colossal community.<\/a><\/p>\n But first, getting a good idea of how WhatsApp users compare to your target audience is vital.<\/p>\n Is your brand focused on women between the ages of 55 and 64? High-income American adults? Brazilian internet users who don\u2019t mind ads? Whatever your goals, WhatsApp may be the key to kicking that social media marketing game up a notch.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at some data.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Bonus: Download our free WhatsApp for Customer Care<\/span> guide<\/strong> to get more pointers on how to use WhatsApp Business to get higher conversion rates, better customer experience, lower costs, and higher customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Yes, that\u2019s a billion WhatsApp users. The messaging and video calling app launched in 2009 and quickly proved it has that Boom Boom Pow (much like the Black Eyed Peas song that also came out in 2009).<\/p>\n To put that in perspective, earth\u2019s population is around 8 billion, which means around 4 in every 10 people use Whatsapp monthly\u2014that\u2019s a market size that social media managers can\u2019t ignore. <\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Statista<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n According to a January 2024 Statista study<\/a>, WhatsApp has every other messenger app<\/a> beat for monthly downloads. In fact, other apps aren\u2019t even close: the next most-downloaded app is Snapchat, which has about 10 million fewer. <\/p>\n Telegram has 36.7 million downloads, and fourth place goes to\u2014oh, lookie there, it\u2019s WhatsApp Business.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Statista<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ll talk more about WhatsApp Business later in this post\u2026 for now, you can digest the news that together, WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business have 79 million monthly downloads.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Manage all your messages stress-free with easy routing, saved replies, and friendly chatbots. Try Hootsuite\u2019s Inbox today.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBook a Demo<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Why is WhatsApp so popular? The results of this 2023 Statista study<\/a> can shed some light on the app\u2019s success, \u201ckeeping in touch with friends and family\u201d is the number one reason people use social media.<\/p>\n Because WhatsApp is an app focused entirely on messaging, voice, and video calls, it\u2019s perfect for keeping in touch with people you personally know. Unlike other platforms like TikTok or Facebook messenger, the majority of time spent on WhatsApp is devoted to private conversation, not entertainment from strangers.<\/p>\n Some social media platforms skew wildly in favour of a single gender. For example, Pinterest users lean female<\/a> and most Twitter (X) users are male<\/a>. But WhatsApp\u2019s gender breakdown isn\u2019t quite as conclusive.<\/p>\n According to data available from We Are Social<\/a>, from We Are Social<\/a>, 47.6% are women and 52.3% are men, which is about as close as it gets to 50\/50.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>We Are Social<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n This stat doesn\u2019t cover WhatsApp\u2019s user base opinions, just whether a person has ever used it. <\/p>\n But<\/em> 29% of the U.S. adults the Pew Research Center studied in 2023 said that they have used Whatsapp at least once. It\u2019s in sixth place behind YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and LinkedIn, in that order.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Pew Research Centre<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Still, 29% is a good chunk\u2014meaning that a good chunk of Americans are familiar with the platform and have some experience using WhatsApp to communicate.<\/p>\n While 2 in 10 teens say they\u2019ve ever used WhatsApp, the messenger app isn\u2019t the most popular with the youth: 93% use YouTube, 63% use TikTok, and 60% use Snapchat.<\/p>\n Again, the number of teen WhatsApp users is still significant\u2026 just not as significant as the number of teen users on other platforms. Marketers focusing on a discerning teenage audience<\/a>, take note.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Pew Research Center<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to pick a favourite, but WhatsApp is the number one choice for plenty of folks online. It\u2019s only beat by Instagram.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>We Are Social<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n When favourite social media platforms are broken down by age and gender, WhatsApp is the top choice in many categories: women aged 35 to 64, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and men aged 35 to 64, 45 to 54, and 55 to 64.<\/p>\n So, regardless of gender identity, WhatsApp is a worldwide fave for people over 35 (and should be a favourite for social media marketers targeting that age group<\/a>).<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>We Are Social<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n WhatsApp is most favoured by people of colour (according to data from Pew Research Centre<\/a>). 20% of white respondents say they have used the platform, 31% of Black respondents have used it, and 54% and 51% of Hispanic and Asian respondents said they have used WhatsApp, respectively.<\/p>\n Psstt: <\/strong>this data doesn\u2019t include non-English speakers, and Pew notes this for the Asian category specifically, indicating that the actual data for that group is likely higher. <\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Pew Research Center<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n When looking at education data, WhatsApp is most popular with Americans who graduated college\u201439% of respondents in a 2023 study said they ever used the app. While 23% of U.S. adults who have completed some post-secondary education have used WhatsApp, and 25% in the \u201chigh school or less\u201d category have.<\/p>\n Looking at other platforms studied (89% of American college graduates have used YouTube, and 70% have used Facebook), Whatsapp doesn\u2019t quite compare. However, it is more popular with college grads than TikTok or Snapchat.<\/p>\n So, if your brand\u2019s target audience is college graduates, WhatsApp isn\u2019t a bad place to invest some marketing dollars\u2014but consider a Facebook<\/a> or YouTube strategy<\/a>, too. <\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Pew Research Centre<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n A 2023 survey by the brains at Pew Research Center<\/a> reported that WhatsApp is the most popular social media site in middle-income countries (including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Indonesia and South Africa).<\/p>\n Platforms like Twitter and Telegram are the least popular in these parts of the world. <\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Pew Research Center<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Social marketers should consider this geographical data when considering their audience.<\/p>\n If your brand plans to expand to South America, for example, it\u2019s worth noting that WhatsApp is the most popular social media site used in the continent\u2019s two largest countries. This seems like the perfect opportunity to use WhatsApp for customer service<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to We Are Social, Facebook and YouTube have the highest users globally, and WhatsApp follows closely behind. <\/p>\n Comparing WhatsApp to a platform like Facebook is a bit like comparing internet apples to oranges\u2014while Facebook is a more typical \u201csocial media\u201d app where you can post, share, and comment on content, WhatsApp is used primarily for direct messaging.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>We Are Social<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n This ties into the point above: because different apps are used for different reasons, many people use more than one. Out of all WhatsApp users, 0.7% are loyal to WhatsApp and WhatsApp only.<\/p>\n The rest are dabbling in other apps\u201478% of WhatsApp users are also active on Instagram, 77% use Facebook, and 75% use YouTube. Audience overlap is important for digital marketers to consider so that resources and budgets can be properly allocated.<\/p>\n Source: We Are Social<\/a> <\/p>\n A study from We Are Social <\/a>states that from July through September 2023, monthly active WhatsApp users opened the application on 83.2% of days. WhatsApp had the highest percentage of days opened compared to the other platforms studied (Facebook got 64.1%, YouTube got 63.7%, and TikTok got 61.7%).<\/p>\n This proves that many of those \u201cmonthly\u201d active users\u2014there are 3 billion of them\u2014actually use the app on an almost daily basis.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>We Are Social<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n WhatsApp hours add up, especially in Argentina, Indonesia, Columbia and Brazil, where the average person spends over a day per month on the platform. Globally, the average number of monthly hours spent on WhatsApp is 17 (about the number of hours that most of us spend awake per day).<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>We Are Social<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Social marketers looking to invest in WhatsApp should study the average usage in their targeted country and make an informed decision<\/a>. For example, the monthly average in Taiwan is only about two hours, so WhatsApp Business likely doesn\u2019t have a large impact on that audience.<\/p>\n According to the same 2024 Statista study<\/a> referenced at the beginning of this post\u2014WhatsApp Business is one of the world\u2019s most downloaded messaging applications. It has more downloaded files than Messenger, WeChat<\/a>, QQ, and Line.<\/p>\n Hootsuite\u2019s 2024 Social Survey<\/a> found that brands feel good about investing in WhatsApp for their business and social strategy. Nearly 7 in 10 out of the 3,891 respondents said they feel confident that the platform delivers a positive ROI.<\/p>\n In other words, marketers feel that investing in WhatsApp is worth it because they\u2019ll make more <\/em>money as a result.<\/p>\n The folks who participated in our 2024 Social Survey were digital marketers, public relations professionals, and social media managers like you\u2014and their confidence in the platform (as well as Linkedin and Instagram) is a sign that WhatsApp may be worth opening your wallet for.<\/p>\n Despite marketers\u2019 confidence in the platform, WhatsApp has a relatively small community of businesses using the messenger app.<\/p>\n Hootsuite\u2019s 2024 Social Survey found that 5% of the experts surveyed said their organizations have a presence on WhatsApp. It beat out Snapchat (4%) and BeReal (1%), but doesn\u2019t even come close to Facebook (91%) or Instagram (86%).<\/p>\n WhatsApp with that? (Sorry, had to).<\/p>\n Brands are confident in WhatsApp\u2019s potential ROI, yet Hootsuite\u2019s 2024 social trends survey indicates that they\u2019re leaving<\/em> the platform: business presence is decreasing on the app, not increasing.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t be certain what\u2019s causing this discrepancy, but it\u2019s possible that WhatsApp simply isn\u2019t one of the \u201cbig fish\u201d in the social media pond, and it can be challenging to manage on top of all your other brand profiles.<\/p>\n In fact, 52% of the marketers surveyed said that one of their biggest concerns for the future is \u201ctime or budget investment to maintain a presence on multiple social platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n If only there were a time-saving app you could use to plan, coordinate and schedule all of your social content ahead of time\u2026 oh yeah, Hootsuite does that<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFree 30-Day Trial<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Advertising works best if the folks you\u2019re advertising actually have money to spend\u2014and when it comes to the U.S. population, WhatsApp was a popular app among wealthier respondents. <\/p>\n 33% of Americans making $70,000 to $99,999 per year use WhatsApp, and 26% of respondents in the $30,000 to $69,999 range use the messaging platform.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Pew Research Center<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n In what might be the longest-titled study ever (\u201cPercentage of WhatsApp users who did not mind receiving advertisements through the app as long as it was not very often in Brazil as of May 2023\u201d), Statista found that 53% of respondents say they\u2019re not bothered by ads on WhatsApp. That is, as long as the advertisements didn\u2019t always show up.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the most concrete report\u2014after all, everyone\u2019s definition of \u201cnot very often\u201d is different\u2014but it does show that a large number of WhatsApp users are open to receiving ads on the platform. This, in turn, means that your brand can invest in WhatsApp ads with the confidence that most users won\u2019t be annoyed by them. <\/span><\/p>\nGeneral WhatsApp statistics<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Globally, WhatsApp has about three billion monthly users<\/a>.<\/h3>\n
![\"Number](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_Number-of-unique-WhatsApp-mobile-users-worldwide-620x402.png?resize=620%2C402&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n2. Over 51 million people<\/a> download WhatsApp every month.<\/h3>\n
![\"Most](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_Most-popular-messenger-apps-worldwide-620x404.png?resize=620%2C404&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/HS-InboxUpdate-Networks.png?ssl=1\"\/)
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReduce response time (and your workload)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n3. Half of all social media users<\/a> say they use social media to keep in touch with friends and family.<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/word-image-477622-3.png?resize=1144%2C1086&ssl=1\")
Source: <\/em>Statista<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nWhatsApp user statistics<\/span><\/h2>\n
4. The gender breakdown of WhatsApp users is relatively even<\/a>.<\/h3>\n
![\"Whatsapp](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_Whatsapp-overview-620x350.png?resize=620%2C350&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n5. 29% of American adults<\/a> have used WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_US-adults-social-usage-620x871.png?resize=620%2C871&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n6. 21% of U.S. teens<\/a> use WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_US-teens-social-media-use-620x441.png?resize=620%2C441&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n7. 16% of social media users say WhatsApp is their favourite social media platform\u2026<\/h3>\n
![\"favourite](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_favourite-social-media-platforms-620x349.png?resize=620%2C349&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n8. \u2026 and men and women between the ages of 35 and 54 have a particular fondness for WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"favourite](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_favourite-social-media-platforms-by-gender-620x347.png?resize=620%2C347&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n9. More than half<\/a> of Hispanic and Asian Americans use WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_US-adults-social-media-use-by-ethnicity-620x660.png?resize=620%2C660&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n10. 39% of American college graduates<\/a> use WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_US-adults-social-media-use-by-education-620x634.png?resize=620%2C634&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n11. 90% of Brazilian adults<\/a> use WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"Pew](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_Pew-Research-popular-social-media-apps-620x371.png?resize=620%2C371&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\nWhatsApp usage statistics<\/span><\/h2>\n
12. WhatsApp is the third most-used<\/a> social media platform globally.<\/h3>\n
![\"most](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_most-used-social-media-platforms-620x348.png?resize=620%2C348&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n13. Less than 1%<\/a> of WhatsApp users only <\/em>use WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"social](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_social-media-platform-audience-overlap-620x347.png?resize=620%2C347&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n14. The average Whatsapp user opens the app 8 out of every 10 days<\/a>.<\/h3>\n
![\"daily](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_daily-use-of-social-media-apps-620x347.png?resize=620%2C347&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n15. The average person spends 17 hours on WhatsApp per month.<\/h3>\n
![\"time](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_time-spent-using-the-app-620x348.png?resize=620%2C348&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\nWhatsApp statistics for business<\/span><\/h2>\n
16. Every month, about 28 million people<\/a> download WhatsApp Business.<\/h3>\n
17. 68% of brands<\/a> are confident that WhatsApp delivers a positive ROI (return on investment)\u2026<\/h3>\n
![\"brands](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_brands-confidence-in-Whatsapp-620x583.png?resize=620%2C583&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n18. \u2026but only 5% of brands have a presence on WhatsApp\u2026<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/word-image-477622-17.png?resize=2040%2C646&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n19. \u2026and there was a -18% change in WhatsApp use<\/a> for businesses from 2022 to 2023.<\/h3>\n
![\"social](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_social-media-platforms-brands-are-leaving-620x925.png?resize=620%2C925&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Inpost-CTA-Planner.png?ssl=1\"\/)
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t#1 Social Media Tool\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\nWhatsApp advertising statistics<\/span><\/h2>\n
20. 34% of American adults<\/a> with an income of $100,000 or more use WhatsApp.<\/h3>\n
![\"US](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_US-adults-social-media-use-by-income-620x655.png?resize=620%2C655&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n21. More than half of WhatsApp users<\/a> in Brazil don\u2019t mind receiving ads through WhatsApp (as long as it\u2019s not too often)<\/h3>\n
![\"WhatsApp](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Whatsapp-statistics_WhatsApp-users-who-did-not-mind-receiving-ads-620x398.png?resize=620%2C398&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n