I remember the first time I signed up for Twitter back in the day—back when it was all about sharing quick updates and following celebrities’ every tweet. It felt like a never-ending stream of thoughts from across the world, all packed into 140 characters.
Fast forward to today, and it’s hard to believe how much has changed. With Elon Musk’s massive $44 billion acquisition and the shift to X, the platform feels like a whole new beast. What hasn’t changed, though, is its place as a social media powerhouse, and honestly, I’ve found myself diving into its numbers to make sense of where X stands today.
So, if you’re as curious as I was about how many people are still tweeting, who’s raking in followers, or how much time we’re all really spending scrolling, this deep dive into X’s stats will give you all the answers.
- 1. Twitter/X at a glance: Top statistics
- 2. A brief history of Twitter/X: From tweets to rebranding
- 3. Monthly active users: Global and U.S. reach
- 4. Daily active users: A closer look
- 5. How X compares to other social media platforms
- 6. Who uses X? Demographics breakdown
- 7. Popular Twitter/X accounts: Top influencers and celebrities
- 8. Twitter/X user growth: Milestones over the years
- 9. Why people use X
- 10. X’s financial performance: Revenue and valuation
- Wrapping up
1. Twitter/X at a glance: Top statistics
- 500 million monthly active users worldwide (Source: X/Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino)
- 245 million daily active users globally (Source: X/Twitter)
- X reaches 12.6% of global internet users (Source: DataReportal)
- 61.2% of users are male, while 38.8% are female (Source: DataReportal)
- The platform generated $2.98 billion in advertising revenue in 2023 (Source: eMarketer)
- 1,000 employees work at X today, down from 7,500 in 2021 (Source: PayScale)
- The most followed account on X is Elon Musk with 166.43 million followers (Source: Social Blade)
2. A brief history of Twitter/X: From tweets to rebranding
- The first tweet was sent on March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey (Source: Twitter).
- Twitter hit one billion tweets in 2009 (Source: Statista).
- Twitter went public in November 2013 with 200 million users (Source: TechCrunch).
- Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, rebranding it to X (Source: The New York Times).
3. Monthly active users: Global and U.S. reach
- X currently has over 500 million monthly active users worldwide (Source: X/Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino).
- Elon Musk claimed 600 million users in May 2024, though the more accepted figure is 500 million (Source: Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino).
- 50.5 million users are based in the United States (Source: Statista).
4. Daily active users: A closer look
- X has around 245 million daily active users worldwide, according to company estimates (Source: X/Twitter).
- Independent analyses, such as Apptopia, suggest daily users could be as low as 121 million (Source: Apptopia), though official numbers range from 200-250 million DAUs (Source: Mashable, Industry Dive).
5. How X compares to other social media platforms
- X ranks 12th among the most popular social networks globally, reaching 12.6% of internet users (Source: DataReportal).
- Here’s how X stacks up against other major platforms as of October 2023 (Source: DataReportal):
- Facebook: 3,030 million users
- YouTube: 2,491 million users
- WhatsApp: 2,000 million users
- X (Twitter): 666 million users
6. Who uses X? Demographics breakdown
– Age Demographics:
- 58.38% of X’s users are between 18-34 years old (Source: Similarweb).
- The largest age group is 25-34 with 29.58% of users (Source: Similarweb).
– Gender Demographics:
- 61.2% of users are male (Source: DataReportal).
- 38.8% are female, making X more male-dominated than platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn (Source: DataReportal).
7. Popular Twitter/X accounts: Top influencers and celebrities
– The top 5 most followed accounts are (Source: Social Blade):
1. Elon Musk – 166.43 million followers
2. Barack Obama – 131.96 million followers
3. Justin Bieber – 111.5 million followers
4. Cristiano Ronaldo – 110.43 million followers
5. Rihanna – 108.48 million followers
8. Twitter/X user growth: Milestones over the years
– Twitter/X has seen consistent growth since 2017 (Source: Statista). Here are key growth milestones:
- Q1 2017: 109 million DAUs
- Q1 2020: 166 million DAUs
- November 2022: 259.4 million DAUs
- September 2023: 245 million DAUs (revised figure)
9. Why people use X
– 60.6% of users log into X to stay up to date with news and current events (Source: DataReportal).
– Other common activities include:
- 34.9% use it to research brands or products (Source: DataReportal).
- 34.8% browse for entertaining content (Source: DataReportal).
- 27% post or share photos or videos (Source: DataReportal).
10. X’s financial performance: Revenue and valuation
X’s advertising revenue reached $2.98 billion in 2023, down from $4.14 billion in 2022 (Source: eMarketer). Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of advertising revenue (Source: eMarketer):
- 2021: $4.46 billion
- 2022: $4.14 billion
- 2023: $2.98 billion
X currently employs around 1,000 employees, a significant drop from 7,500 in 2021 (Source: PayScale).
Wrapping up
After diving into all these numbers, it’s clear that X, formerly known as Twitter, remains a significant player in the social media world, despite all the changes it’s gone through. From Elon Musk’s takeover and rebranding to X, to its user base of over 500 million monthly active users, the platform continues to hold its ground. The demographic breakdown shows a strong, predominantly male audience, with younger users leading the charge. And despite fluctuations in its daily active users and advertising revenue, X still commands attention as a hub for news, entertainment, and brand engagement.
Even though X is no longer the social media giant it once was in terms of ad revenue, its influence is undeniable. The most followed accounts, like Elon Musk and Barack Obama, demonstrate the platform’s global reach, while its presence in countries like Japan, India, and Indonesia shows its growing appeal beyond the U.S. As X continues to evolve, it’ll be fascinating to see how these stats shift in the future. Whether you’re a casual user or a brand hoping to leverage its reach, X is still very much worth keeping an eye on.