World leaders with the most Twitter followers 2020
In 2020, 189 countries were represented through an official presence on Twitter, either by personal or institutional accounts run by heads of state and government and foreign ministers. During the measured period, U.S. President Donald Trump was ranked first, having accumulated over 81.1 million Twitter followers on his personal account. The official @POTUS account was ranked fifth with 30.2 million followers worldwide.
Heads of state on Twitter
Twitter is a very conversational social platform, allowing users to communicate in a very public manner. Foreign ministries utilize Twitter to expand their online presence and digital diplomatic networks, and government officials are encouraged to interact with the public. The most conversational world leader on Twitter is the Government of Nepal, with 96 percent of their tweets being @ replies to other Twitter users. Another more subtle layer of Twitter diplomacy is the mutual following of peers between official heads of state, minister and other government accounts – as of June 2020, the Foreign Ministry of Iceland (@MFAIceland) was ranked first, having 147 mutual connections with other world leaders and foreign ministries on Twitter. During the measured period, @realDonaldTrump, @POTUS and the @WhiteHouse Twitter accounts did not follow any other foreign leaders. In 2018, the account of the U.S. State Department had only 59 mutual peer connections on Twitter, painting a relatively isolated picture in terms of international political communications.
Trump on Twitter
Donald Trump’s prolific Twitter usage is a hotly debated topic. The President uses Twitter on a daily basis to make comments about other politicians, celebrities and daily news, sometimes antagonizing others with his controversial statements. According to an August 2018 survey, 61 percent of U.S. adults stated that Trump's use of Twitter as President of the United States was inappropriate, while only 24 percent of respondents said the opposite. In total, 90 percent of respondents who identified as Democrats thought that Trump's Twitter use was inappropriate; while on the other end of the political spectrum only 35 percent of respondents identifying as Republicans reported having the same opinion.
Heads of state on Twitter
Twitter is a very conversational social platform, allowing users to communicate in a very public manner. Foreign ministries utilize Twitter to expand their online presence and digital diplomatic networks, and government officials are encouraged to interact with the public. The most conversational world leader on Twitter is the Government of Nepal, with 96 percent of their tweets being @ replies to other Twitter users. Another more subtle layer of Twitter diplomacy is the mutual following of peers between official heads of state, minister and other government accounts – as of June 2020, the Foreign Ministry of Iceland (@MFAIceland) was ranked first, having 147 mutual connections with other world leaders and foreign ministries on Twitter. During the measured period, @realDonaldTrump, @POTUS and the @WhiteHouse Twitter accounts did not follow any other foreign leaders. In 2018, the account of the U.S. State Department had only 59 mutual peer connections on Twitter, painting a relatively isolated picture in terms of international political communications.
Trump on Twitter
Donald Trump’s prolific Twitter usage is a hotly debated topic. The President uses Twitter on a daily basis to make comments about other politicians, celebrities and daily news, sometimes antagonizing others with his controversial statements. According to an August 2018 survey, 61 percent of U.S. adults stated that Trump's use of Twitter as President of the United States was inappropriate, while only 24 percent of respondents said the opposite. In total, 90 percent of respondents who identified as Democrats thought that Trump's Twitter use was inappropriate; while on the other end of the political spectrum only 35 percent of respondents identifying as Republicans reported having the same opinion.
