Germany: number of social network users 2014-2020

Based on forecasts, there will be 39.6 million social network users in Germany by 2020. Numbers have been growing steadily in recent years.

Likes and dislikes

Social media has taken numerous countries by storm since its emergence and Germany is no exception. In 2018, more than half of the population used social networks. Among these, the most popular were WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook. While it’s understandable to pose the question whether WhatsApp in particular is a social media platform and not a messaging service only, it is being used by businesses and media outlets to communicate information and get closer to consumers. The general population, meanwhile, pursues a variety of activities on social networks, most often sending private messages, as well as liking and commenting on posts by other users. Compared to other European countries and Russia, Germans do not spend the most time on social media.

An open book?

Facebook dominates the global social media scene and the numbers speak for themselves, with half of the world’s online population on it. Some of the most consistent, long-term concerns simultaneously arising with Facebook’s and other social networks’ staggering popularity have to do with transparency regarding data protection and user privacy options.