Instagram User Growth (2021–2025)
Consumers use Instagram for many different reasons, whether it’s sharing photos and videos, looking for entertaining content, or keeping in touch with friends and family.
The platform’s constant tweaking and addition of new features to adapt to the evolving habits of users is also encouraging new sign-ups. If you’re trying to understand Instagram’s user growth, ask not: Is Instagram growing? Instead, a more accurate question would be: How fast is Instagram growing?
Here’s a breakdown of Instagram’s user growth in recent years.
Instagram’s user growth: 2021–2023
According to the latest Instagram growth stats, the popular photo- and video-sharing social network increased its number of users by 18.1% in 2021. This is the largest increase expected in at least five years and can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which continued to impact the world that year. As governments imposed lockdowns, consumers spent more time indoors and on social media.
In 2022, the growth of Instagram slowed by nearly one-third compared to the previous year, as its number of users grew by 6.5%. The deceleration was not unique to Instagram. Rival networks like TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook also saw growth slow.
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Instagram’s user growth rate is expected to rise slightly this year, by 1.4 percentage points, to 7.9%. Meanwhile, the growth rates of TikTok and Snapchat are set to continue falling.
Instagram’s user growth: 2024–2025
Looking ahead, analysts predict Instagram will grow its user base for at least two more years. The forecast shows that Instagram’s user growth is expected at 6.5% in 2024, before slowing to 4.7% in 2025.
The deceleration follows a similar pattern impacting other major social media platforms. For instance, TikTok’s user growth rate is expected to be 7% in 2025, slowing significantly from the 43.5% surge it experienced in 2021. Snapchat is also forecast to see its user growth rate fall, from 25.2% in 2021 to 5.8% in 2025.
Instagram’s average annual growth rates
From 2021 to 2025, the number of Instagram users is forecast to rise at an average annual growth rate of 8.7%. Here’s how other social networks are expected to perform over the same period:
- TikTok: 18.4%
- Snapchat: 14.4%
- Facebook: 1.4%
- Twitter: -1%