Saifaddin Galal
Research Expert North Africa
Social media in Egypt- statistics & facts
With the internet becoming more widespread among the Egyptian population, social media users in the country jumped significantly. As of early 2023, over 46 million had a presence on social media platforms compared to 16.6 million nine years earlier. The majority of those individuals enjoyed being on social networks and instant messengers. According to Statista's Consumer Insights conducted between January and March 2023, 84 percent and 82 percent of the respondents cited these platform types, respectively. However, Egyptian social media users' average time online dropped over the years. Compared to six years prior, the average time spent was lower by 27 minutes to two hours 40 minutes.
Meta's platforms come on top
Social media platforms owned by Meta were the most prevalent among Egyptian users. In fact, Facebook was the leading platform used by internet audiences in the country in 2022, with an 85 percent penetration rate. WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram followed, with around 72, 71, and 66 percent, respectively. TikTok came fifth as the first outside of the Meta umbrella. Furthermore, younger individuals tend to have a higher presence on the various social media platforms. For instance, Millennials (here referring to 25-34 years) and the older segment of Gen Z (18-24 years) were the most available age segments on Facebook. For Messenger, people between 25 and 34 were the largest age group on the app, while for Instagram, the younger age bracket of 25 and 34 was the biggest.Which platforms can marketers use to reach users?
As the advertisement algorithm improves in reaching target audiences and the penetration rate on social media platforms increases, it only makes sense that marketers would significantly increase spending on the various platforms globally. YouTube was the platform with the most significant possible reach in Egypt, covering almost 41 percent of the population. Facebook, Messenger, and TikTok followed, likely reaching close to 38, 30, and 21.2 percent of the residents, respectively. One of the common methods for advertising on the platforms was through the content creators - the influencers. Among the leading Egyptian TikTok users, Sherif Khalid and Gehad Hassan had the highest number of followers, with 9.1 and seven million as of 2023.
