Facebook statistics 2025: Egypt and Saudi Arabia lead the way
Twenty-two years after its initial spark in a Harvard University dorm room, social media giant Facebook continues to solidify its position as the largest digital platform in human history. On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues (Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin) launched a website intended to connect students, which has since transformed into a tech empire under the umbrella of "Meta," reshaping communication, marketing, and even politics worldwide.
Global map for users: India in the lead
The latest statistics from Statista, as of October 2025, reveal the platform's continued global momentum, with India leading the way with 403.4 million users—a figure reflecting the deep digital penetration in Asia. The United States came in second with 197.6 million users, followed by Indonesia with 120.9 million. The fact that the top ten countries worldwide boast a combined total of 1.268 billion users indicates that Facebook remains a dominant player despite the rise of short-video apps.
Egypt is leading the Arab world digitally
Regionally, Egypt continues to assert its demographic and digital weight, topping the list of Arab countries and ranking tenth globally with 51.55 million users. This figure places it at the forefront of the Middle East's digital landscape, far ahead of Algeria, which came in second in the Arab world with 27.45 million users, making the Egyptian market a key arena for advertisers and content creators in the region.
Saudi Arabia: Rapid growth and surpassing "X"
In Saudi Arabia, the platform is experiencing remarkable growth, reflecting the Kingdom's accelerated digital transformation. The number of users jumped from 10.35 million in 2017 to 16.57 million in 2025. The most striking paradox is Facebook's surpassing of "X" (formerly Twitter), which had long been the preferred platform for Saudis, with the latter recording only 14.6 million users.
It is not limited to the number of users, but extends to economic effectiveness, as the reach of advertising via Facebook in the Kingdom reached 16.21 million users in 2024, with expectations of adding 1.76 million new users by 2030. Saudi Arabia also topped the world in the percentage of active social networks at 111.2%, surpassing the UAE and South Korea.
The journey from a dating site to "Metaverse"
The 22-year journey has not been without its challenges and strategic shifts. From reaching its first million users in 2004, through shrewd acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, to rebranding to Meta in 2021, the company has proven its ability to adapt. Today, with two billion daily active users and an average of 400 new sign-ups every minute, Facebook's influence extends far beyond social networking, becoming a major driver of the global digital economy and a gateway to virtual reality and metaverse technologies.
