Natalie Cowling
Research Expert South Africa
Social media in Kenya - statistics & facts
Social media platforms have become an integral part of daily life for billions of people, shaping the way they connect and communicate with each other. From urban centers to rural areas, the influence of social media can be felt everywhere. To start, approximately 22.5 Kenyans used the internet in 2023. This is forecast to increase to nearly 39 million by 2028. Mobile internet users were significantly higher and stood at 42.35 million in Kenya.
WhatsApp most popular social media platform
Between 2014 and 2023, the number of social media users in Kenya increased rapidly. In 2014, the country counted approximately 3.5 million users; by 2023, this has nearly tripled to 10.55 million social media users. Nevertheless, it is a slight decrease compared to the previous two years. WhatsApp was the most used social media platform. According to the latest survey data, the chat application was used by around 34 percent as of the third quarter of 2023. Facebook and Instagram stood at a usage rate of 17.5 percent, whereas roughly 12.5 percent of the respondents indicated using the popular online video-sharing network TikTok. Facebook Messenger, an equivalent of WhatsApp, just got used by 0.8 percent. Furthermore, according to Statista’s Global Consumer Survey, the most common activity on social media was commenting on posts. 70 percent indicated to leave comments, whereas following people and liking posts by other users received one percentage point less. Three percent mentioned having used social media passively, while just one percent said to have not used it at all.
Usage of Meta platforms
Meta, the American technology conglomerate, owns the most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. These were also the three favorite platforms used in Kenya. Facebook's user number steadily increased between 2018 and 2023. Furthermore, by 2027, it will grow to nearly 20 million users. Most of these users fell between the ages of 18 to 34, with a total of 71 percent as of May 2023. Interestingly, the user rate was higher (4.6 percent) among those aged 65 and older than those between 55 and 64 (2.1 percent). Instagram users rose steadily as well, despite a slight decrease from 2021 to 2022. As of 2023, it counted roughly 2.2 million users and is set to increase to 3.28 million by 2027. WhatsApp counted as the second largest user base of the three. In 2023, the instant messaging service registered 7.9 million users, with an estimated growth rate of 79.75 percent between 2024 and 2028.
YouTube most visited website of social media platforms
In 2022, it is no surprise that the search engine Google.com constituted the most visited website in Kenya. The multinational received a total of 253 million visits. YouTube.com registered 183 million visits, whereas X (Twitter) and Facebook had approximately 30 and 26 million visits, respectively.
WhatsApp most popular social media platform
Between 2014 and 2023, the number of social media users in Kenya increased rapidly. In 2014, the country counted approximately 3.5 million users; by 2023, this has nearly tripled to 10.55 million social media users. Nevertheless, it is a slight decrease compared to the previous two years. WhatsApp was the most used social media platform. According to the latest survey data, the chat application was used by around 34 percent as of the third quarter of 2023. Facebook and Instagram stood at a usage rate of 17.5 percent, whereas roughly 12.5 percent of the respondents indicated using the popular online video-sharing network TikTok. Facebook Messenger, an equivalent of WhatsApp, just got used by 0.8 percent. Furthermore, according to Statista’s Global Consumer Survey, the most common activity on social media was commenting on posts. 70 percent indicated to leave comments, whereas following people and liking posts by other users received one percentage point less. Three percent mentioned having used social media passively, while just one percent said to have not used it at all.
Usage of Meta platforms
Meta, the American technology conglomerate, owns the most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. These were also the three favorite platforms used in Kenya. Facebook's user number steadily increased between 2018 and 2023. Furthermore, by 2027, it will grow to nearly 20 million users. Most of these users fell between the ages of 18 to 34, with a total of 71 percent as of May 2023. Interestingly, the user rate was higher (4.6 percent) among those aged 65 and older than those between 55 and 64 (2.1 percent). Instagram users rose steadily as well, despite a slight decrease from 2021 to 2022. As of 2023, it counted roughly 2.2 million users and is set to increase to 3.28 million by 2027. WhatsApp counted as the second largest user base of the three. In 2023, the instant messaging service registered 7.9 million users, with an estimated growth rate of 79.75 percent between 2024 and 2028.
YouTube most visited website of social media platforms
In 2022, it is no surprise that the search engine Google.com constituted the most visited website in Kenya. The multinational received a total of 253 million visits. YouTube.com registered 183 million visits, whereas X (Twitter) and Facebook had approximately 30 and 26 million visits, respectively.
