Forget everything you think you know about Instagram's audience, because the platform's true power lies not in its size but in the specific, often surprising, habits of its users—from Gen Z's hourly check-ins to the $21 billion influencer industry it fuels.
Key Takeaways
- As of 2024, 62.3% of Instagram's global user base is aged 18-34 years old
- In the United States, 32% of Instagram users are aged 18-24, making it the largest age group
- Globally, 51.8% of Instagram users are female
- Instagram users spend an average of 33 minutes per day on the app globally
- 70% of users check Instagram within 30 minutes of waking up
- Daily active users number 500 million who use Stories daily
- Global MAU grew to 2 billion in 2024
- US Instagram users reached 169.65 million in 2024
- India added 50 million users in 2023
- Average likes per post: 62 across 1M posts analyzed
- Top posts get 3.5% engagement rate
- Reels have 22% higher engagement than videos
- Instagram influencers earn $10 CPM on average
- Global influencer marketing spend on Instagram: $21 billion in 2023
- 44% of marketers plan to increase Instagram ad budget
Instagram appeals most to a young, engaged, mobile-first global audience.
Business and Monetization
- Instagram influencers earn $10 CPM on average
- Global influencer marketing spend on Instagram: $21 billion in 2023
- 44% of marketers plan to increase Instagram ad budget
- Average ROAS for Instagram ads: 2.16
- Nano-influencers charge $10-100 per post
- Instagram drives 30% of social commerce sales
- 130 million users tap shopping posts monthly
- Top 1% creators earn over $100k/year
- CPC for Instagram ads averages $0.70-$1.00
- 75% of Instagram users have made a purchase
- Affiliate marketing commissions average 10-20% via Instagram
- Brand partnerships yield 5.2x ROI
- Shopping tags used in 100M Stories monthly
- Micro-influencers (10k-100k) charge $100-500/post
- Instagram ad revenue projected $50B in 2024
- 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations
- Subscription features used by 5M creators monthly
- Badges in Live generate $1M+ monthly
- Gifts on Reels earned creators $10M in first year
- Average e-commerce conversion from IG: 3%
- Sponsored posts average $1,200 for mid-tier influencers
- 80% of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing
- Checkout on Instagram processes 1M+ transactions/month
- Creator payouts via bonuses exceed $1B annually
Business and Monetization Interpretation
Instagram has officially become the world's most lucrative digital bazaar, where creators are the new shopkeepers, brands are the eager investors, and every scroll, tap, and view is a potential transaction in a marketplace projected to rake in $50 billion next year.
Demographics
- As of 2024, 62.3% of Instagram's global user base is aged 18-34 years old
- In the United States, 32% of Instagram users are aged 18-24, making it the largest age group
- Globally, 51.8% of Instagram users are female
- In India, 72.5% of Instagram users are male
- 30.6% of Instagram users worldwide are from urban areas in high-income countries
- In Brazil, 54% of Instagram users are under 35 years old
- 18.2% of global Instagram users are aged 25-34, the second largest group
- In the US, 29% of Instagram users have a college degree
- Indonesia has 103.4 million Instagram users, representing 37.1% of its population
- 67% of Instagram users in the UK are female
- Globally, 15.4% of Instagram users are aged 35-44
- In Turkey, 58 million Instagram users, 49% female
- 22% of US Instagram users are Hispanic
- India has 362.9 million Instagram users, 70% male
- 10.5% of global users are 45-54 years old
- In Australia, 55% of Instagram users are aged 18-34
- 4.3% of Instagram users worldwide are over 65
- Nigeria has 9.4 million Instagram users, 52% female
- 28% of US adult Instagram users earn over $75,000 annually
- Mexico has 39.3 million users, 51.8% female
- Globally, Gen Z (under 25) comprises 31% of users
- In Japan, 45 million users, 55% female
- 19% of global users live in South Asia
- Philippines has 25.8 million users, 56% female
- In the US, 60% of users are white
- Vietnam has 17.2 million users, 48% female
- 12% of users are from North America
- South Korea has 22.1 million users, 53% female
- In Europe, 25% of users are 18-24
- Thailand has 17.8 million users, 54% female
Demographics Interpretation
The internet's perpetual high school reunion has a class president who's a 25-year-old woman from Mumbai, a prom king who's a college-educated American man posting his brunch, and the entire yearbook is curated by 18-to-34-year-olds who live, love, and shop online.
Engagement and Content
- Average likes per post: 62 across 1M posts analyzed
- Top posts get 3.5% engagement rate
- Reels have 22% higher engagement than videos
- Stories viewed by 500M daily, 2x more than Snapchat
- Average comments per post: 2.4
- Carousels achieve 1.2% engagement rate
- 67 million likes per minute globally
- User-generated content gets 4.5x more engagement
- Peak engagement on Wednesdays 11 AM
- Saves outperform likes by 3x for future engagement
- Reels average 0.50% engagement rate
- Hashtag posts get 12.6% more engagement
- Influencer posts average 2-3% engagement
- Live videos boost engagement 6x
- 1 in 3 posts tagged with location see 79% higher engagement
- Nano-influencers (1k-10k followers) have 7.1% engagement
- Video posts get 38% more engagement than images
- DM replies within 1 hour increase loyalty by 40%
- Polls in Stories increase interactions by 20%
- Brands with 10k+ followers average 0.98% engagement
- Questions stickers in Stories get 30% more replies
- Collaborative posts see 15% higher reach
- Average shares per post: 0.3
Engagement and Content Interpretation
Despite the overwhelming pressure to chase viral fame with endless Reels and Stories, Instagram's harsh truth is that genuine connection—through quick replies, user-generated content, and a simple well-timed post—still wins over the algorithm's cold, metric-driven heart.
Growth and Trends
- Global MAU grew to 2 billion in 2024
- US Instagram users reached 169.65 million in 2024
- India added 50 million users in 2023
- Year-over-year global growth rate of 7.5% in 2023
- Brazil's user base grew 12% to 140 million in 2024
- Ad reach increased to 1.46 billion in early 2024
- Indonesia user penetration at 37%, added 10M users
- From 2018-2023, MAU doubled from 1B to 2B
- Turkey's users surged 15% to 58M in 2024
- Reels daily usage up 20% YoY
- Mexico grew 8% to 39.3M users
- Philippines penetration 22%, +5M users
- Vietnam users up 18% to 17.2M
- South Korea steady at 22.1M, 43% penetration
- Thailand +10% to 17.8M users
- Global DAU/MAU ratio at 60%
- Japan users grew 5% to 45M
- Nigeria doubled users to 9.4M in 2 years
- Australia penetration 62%, stable growth
Growth and Trends Interpretation
Instagram's relentless march to two billion users shows that while the world argues endlessly online, we all still fundamentally agree on one thing: we'd rather be scrolling.
Usage and Behavior
- Instagram users spend an average of 33 minutes per day on the app globally
- 70% of users check Instagram within 30 minutes of waking up
- Daily active users number 500 million who use Stories daily
- 81% of users shop online via Instagram at least once a month
- Average session length is 10 minutes, with 8 sessions per day
- 55% of users turn to Instagram for inspiration before purchase
- 200 million users visit at least one business profile daily
- Users create 95 million photos and videos shared daily
- 60% of users discover new products on Instagram
- Average user interacts with 29 accounts per day
- 40% of users prefer Instagram over Facebook for content consumption
- Users scroll through 500 feet of content daily on average
- 67% of users use Instagram for entertainment
- Peak usage time is 9 AM on weekdays
- 25% of users access Instagram via desktop, 75% mobile
- 45% of users engage with Reels daily
- Average retention rate for daily users is 71%
- 58% of users follow brands for updates
- Users spend 53% more time on Reels than regular feed
- 76% of users use Instagram for brand research
- Nightly usage peaks at 8 PM
- 32% of users use voice search on Instagram
- Average pings/notifications received: 23 per day
- 90% of users follow a business
- 65% use DMs daily for communication
- Weekend usage 15% higher than weekdays
- 48% of users aged 18-24 use it hourly
Usage and Behavior Interpretation
From dawn’s first scroll to evening’s final tap, Instagram has meticulously engineered itself into a 24-hour cycle of inspiration, commerce, and connection, where nearly every minute is monetized and every scroll is a potential sale.
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