Facebook, widely hailed as the “king of social media,” currently boasts more than three billion users worldwide—nearly three times its figure from 2013.

But how quickly has the world’s most popular social media platform been growing and how does its user growth compare to that of its rivals? Here’s a breakdown of Facebook’s user growth by year.

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Facebook user growth by year: 2021–2023

A recent analysis by industry experts shows that Facebook’s user growth rate is expected at 1% this year. It marks a 0.4 percentage point increase from the previous year.

The slight rise in forecast for this year comes after a tumble in 2022, when Facebook’s user growth rate fell by 3.7 percentage points, from 4.3% in 2021 to 0.6%. However, this slump isn’t unique to Facebook, as other rival platforms also experienced sharp declines in their user growth rates. For instance, TikTok’s user growth rate dipped by more than half from 43.5% in 2021, to 19.7% in 2022. Meanwhile, Instagram’s fell by nearly one-third, from 18.1% to 6.5%. 

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Facebook’s user growth rate in 2023 is set to be slower than some of its competitors. By analysts’ estimates, the number of Snapchat users worldwide is expected to rise by 13.4% this year, while TikTok and Instagram are forecast to grow their user bases by 12.7% and 7.9%, respectively. 

Facebook user growth by year: 2024–2025

Experts predict that Facebook will continue to increase its number of users in the coming years, but at more reduced rates. In 2024, its user growth rate is forecast at 0.7%, a 0.3 percentage point decrease. This is set to slow further, to 0.6% in 2025.

In contrast, networks like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are all expected to register much higher growth rates. Analysts say Facebook’s relatively slow growth in recent years (compared to other platforms) can be attributed to the network’s maturity. With three billion users in its pocket—the highest of all social networks—the pool of new users it can attract is small.

From 2021 to 2025, Facebook’s user growth by year is set to average at 1.4% per annum. This is a fraction of TikTok’s and Snapchat’s, whose average annual growth rate over the same period is forecast at 18.4% and 14.4%, respectively. 

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