How Many People Use Facebook Messenger (2021–2023)
As one of the most popular messaging channels, running ads on Facebook Messenger should be on the top of every business’s marketing agenda.
But before doing so, it’s wise to get the lay of the land and understand its users a little. All this starts with answering one basic question about it: how many people use Facebook Messenger?
How many people use Facebook Messenger?
According to the latest statistics, the number of Facebook Messenger users worldwide has been fluctuating in the past couple of years. In October 2021, there were 1.089 billion users, the highest recorded number between October 2021 and October 2023.
The number of Facebook Messenger users fell by 9.3% at the start of 2022, to 988 million. An increase of 1.2% followed in April 2022, which pushed the number back up to the 1 billion mark. This held steady in July 2022, before two consecutive dips saw the number fall to 931 million in January 2023.
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In April 2023, there were 1.036 billion Facebook Messenger users worldwide, representing a rise of 11.3% from January, the largest quarterly increase in at least six quarters. According to the latest numbers, this figure rose by a marginal 0.2%, to 1.038 billion in July 2023, before falling back down to 1.036 billion in October 2023.
Facebook Messenger users: age and gender demographics
Knowing the number of Facebook Messenger users isn’t enough. It’s also important to have a sense of the demographics, especially if you’re going to cater ads to these users.
Globally, the usage of Facebook Messenger users is slightly higher among male users. 19.6% (or one in five) of men worldwide use Facebook Messenger, compared with 15.4% of females.
In terms of age, most Facebook Messenger users are between the ages of 18 and 34. In fact, 53.8% of them fall within this age group, with the majority (31.2%) between 25 and 34.
These Facebook Messenger statistics show that usage of the chat app from this point on decreases as users’ ages increase. For instance, the third-largest age group is 35 to 44: 19.7% of Facebook Messenger users are of these ages and 11.5% are between 45 and 54 years old. This decreases further to 6.7% for those 55 to 64 and 4.3% for those aged 65 and above.