Research Summary. Launched in China in 2016 and internationally in 2017, the video-based social network platform TikTok has taken the world by storm. Here are some statistics about TikTok:
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TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users globally.
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There are about 78.7 million TikTok users in the U.S.
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60% of TikTok users are between 16 and 24 years old.
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TikTok is the sixth most popular social network by number of monthly active users worldwide.
For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Demographics | User Behavior | Trends
General TikTok Statistics
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There are 656 million TikTok downloads worldwide.
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TikTok’s reach in the U.S. is 50.3%.
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The annual global user spending on TikTok is $824 million.
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There are 167 million TikTok videos watched every minute.
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TikTok’s annual revenue is $4.6 billion.
TikTok Statistics by User Demographics
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25% of TikTok users in the U.S. are between ten and 19 years of age.
This is the age group with the largest share of TikTok users, followed by the 22.4% who are between 20 and 29 years of age. Here is the breakdown of the percentage of TikTok users who fall into each age group:
Age Group Share of TikTok Users 10-19 25% 20-29 22.4% 30-39 21.7% 40-49 20.3% 50+ 11% -
57% of TikTok users around the world are women.
This means 43% of TikTok users are men. If you apply these percentages to the 1 billion monthly active users on the platform, it would mean there are about 570 million female users and 430 million male users around the world who are using TikTok each month.
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Saudi Arabia has the highest TikTok penetration rate at 87.9%.
This means that about 88% of Saudi Arabia’s population uses TikTok. Here are the top five countries as far as penetration rates go:
Country TikTok Penetration Rate Saudi Arabia 87.9% United Arab Emirates 81.3% Kuwait 75.4% Thailand 63.6% Qatar 62.1% The U.S. has a TikTok penetration rate of 50.3%, which puts it at number 12 on this list.
TikTok Statistics by User Behavior
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30% of TikTok users spend less than one hour a week using the app.
This is the most common length of time spent on the platform. However, 11% use it five to ten hours a week, and 6% use it for more than ten hours each week.
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The average U.S. TikTok user spends 858 minutes per month on the platform.
This was true as of March 2020, after the number of minutes users spent per month had increased from 442.9 in October 2019.
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68% of TikTok users say they’ve watched someone else’s video in the past month.
In comparison, 55% say they’ve uploaded a video to TikTok during that same time frame.
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63% of TikTok users say they’ve liked someone else’s video in the last month.
Meanwhile, 54% say they’ve commented on someone’s TikTok video, 63% say they’ve followed someone on TikTok, and 50% say they’ve shared someone’s TikTok video on another social network platform.
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TikTok is the sixth-most popular social network as far as the number of monthly active users goes.
Here are the top ten networks and their number of monthly active users around the world:
Social Network Number of Global Monthly Active Users Facebook 2.91 billion YouTube 2.56 billion WhatsApp 2 billion Instagram 1.48 billion Weixin/WeChat 1.26 billion TikTok 1 billion Facebook Messenger 988 million Douyin 600 million QQ 574 million Sina Weibo 573 million
TikTok Trends and Projections
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The number of TikTok users in the U.S. is anticipated to reach 89.7 million by 2023.
In 2020, there were 66.5 million TikTok users in the U.S., and in 2021, there were 78.7 million. Experts predict the number of U.S.-based users will increase by about 8% every year, which would result in 89.7 million users by 2023.
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TikTok’s annual revenue has increased from $63 million in 2017 to $4.6 billion in 2021.
The platform launched internationally in 2017, so these are the numbers from the entirety of TikTok’s young life. Here is the breakdown of TikTok’s annual revenue:
Year Revenue 2017 $63 million 2018 $150 million 2019 $350 million 2020 $1.9 billion 2021 $4.6 billion -
TikTok’s number of first-time installs increased from 131.5 million in 2017 to 740 million in 2021.
In 2020, the app saw a five-year peak of 980.7 million first-time installs. Here is the breakdown of the number of first-time TikTok installs that took place each year from 2017 to 2021:
Year Number of First-Time TikTok App Installs 2017 131.5 million 2018 655 million 2019 738 million 2020 980.7 million 2021 740 million -
TikTok is the most recent social media app to reach one billion monthly active users.
The platform reached this milestone in September 2021, just 5.1 years after its launch. This sets it as the second-fastest online social network platform to reach 1 billion monthly active users after Facebook Messenger, which took just 4.9 years to reach this milestone.
TikTok Statistics FAQ
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About 1 billion people use TikTok every month. TikTok has the sixth-largest number of monthly active users of any social media platform, behind Facebook (2.91 billion monthly active users), YouTube (2.56 billion), WhatsApp (2 billion), Instagram (1.48 billion), and Weixin/WeChat (1.26 billion).
Facebook Messenger, Douyin, QQ, and Sina Weibo all fall behind TikTok as far as the number of monthly active users goes.
In the U.S., there are 78.7 million TikTok users as of 2021, and this number is expected to see an annual growth rate of about 8%, putting it at 89.7 million TikTok users by 2023.
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Young people between ten and 19 years old use TikTok the most. About a quarter of TikTok users are between ten and 19 years old, the largest share of any age group on the platform. The 20- to 29-year-old segment follows close behind, however, accounting for 22.4% of the total number of TikTok users.
Age groups aside, the majority of TikTok users are women (57%). In addition, while the U.S. has the greatest number of TikTok users, Saudi Arabia actually has the highest penetration rate at 87.9%, which means that about 87.9% of the population uses TikTok.
The UAE comes next with a penetration rate of 81.3%, followed by Kuwait with 75.4%, Thailand with 63.6%, and Qatar with 62.1%. The U.S. doesn’t even reach the top ten on this list, with a TikTok penetration rate of 50.3%.
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TikTok’s annual revenue grew by more than $4.5 billion in the first five years of its international existence. Even though TikTok launched in China in 2016, it didn’t reach international markets until 2017, and it earned $63 million in revenue that year. Just five years later in 2021, the platform saw its annual revenue hit $4.6 billion.
TikTok is also the second-fastest online social media platform to reach 1 billion monthly active users, hitting this milestone just 5.1 years after it launched. The fastest platform is Facebook Messenger, which only took 4.9 years to garner 1 billion monthly active users.
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TikTok is worth $4.6 billion. This is according to the revenue the platform earned in 2021. This is a significant increase from the platform’s annual revenue of $63 million the first year it launched internationally (2017).
These earnings are driven by TikTok’s 1 billion monthly active users, who spend $824 million on the platform globally every year.
In addition to its monetary value, TikTok has made waves in the social network arena by becoming the second-fastest platform to reach 1 billion monthly annual users. It took 5.1 years to reach that point, just behind Facebook Messengers, which took 4.9 years to do so.
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TikTok makes money through advertising, in-app purchases, and e-commerce offerings. Advertising is usually one of the most lucrative avenues for Tiktok, as companies pay to place ads on users’ feeds or for branded hashtags that users’ can then put on their sponsored posts.
While not as commonly seen as advertisements are, TikTok also has in-app purchase options available to users. If someone likes a live video, they can purchase virtual TikTok currency to “tip” the creator.
The creator can then cash out these tips as a way to monetize their accounts, but TikTok also makes money on these transactions by taking a percentage as a commission.
The third way Tiktok earns money is by integrating e-commerce into its platform, which allows users to make purchases from other users and businesses without leaving the app. For playing host to these transactions, TikTok also earns a commission on these purchases.
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Yes, TikTok creators can get paid. Not all of them do, but creators who have a substantial number of followers can monetize their accounts through TikTok’s Creator Next program.
Users have to meet the criteria for follower numbers, video views, and posts, but if they do, they can earn money directly from TikTok through this program.
TikTok creators can also get paid by outside companies through sponsorships. Companies can pay creators to make sponsored posts where they promote a product or brand in their videos, and many creators take advantage of this opportunity by creating partnerships with several different companies.
Conclusion
TikTok may only be a few years old, but it’s taken its place as one of the biggest social media networks in the world, with more than 1 billion monthly active users around the world and annual revenue of $4.6 billion.
It’s the sixth-most popular social media network worldwide by monthly active users – behind Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Weixin/WeChat – but it’s the second-fastest platform to reach 1 billion monthly active users. (Facebook Messenger earned first place in this race by taking 4.9 years to reach this milestone as opposed to TikTok’s 5.1 years.)
167 million TikTok videos get watched every minute, and the average U.S. TikTok user spends 858 minutes a month on the platform. This usage adds up for TikTok, as the annual global user spending on TikTok is $824 million, thanks in large part to brands paying to advertise to the platform’s audience.
References
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Statista. “Most Popular Social Networks Worldwide as of January 2022, Ranked by Number of Monthly Active Users.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Wallaroo. “TikTok Statistics – Updated March 2022.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “TikTok – Statistics & Facts.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Media Usage in an Internet Minute as of August 2021.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Distribution of TikTok Users in the United States as of September 2021, by Age Group.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Distribution of TikTok Users Worldwide as of January 2022, by Gender.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “TikTok Penetration in Selected Countries and Territories as of January 2022.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Average Weekly Time Users Spend on TikTok Worldwide in 2021.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Monthly TikTok App User Engagement in the United States From October 2019 to March 2020.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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GWI. “Is TikTok Setting the Scene for Music on Social Media?” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Number of TikTok Users in the United States From 2020 to 2023.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Business of Apps. “TikTok Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022).” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Number of First-Time TikTok Installs From 2017-2021.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
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Statista. “Fastest Social Networks Worldwide to Reach 1 Billion Monthly Active Users as of September 2021.” Accessed on April 18, 2022.
Author
Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.
