Kenyans spend the most time on social media globally, surpasses South Africa and Brazil: Report

Kenya ranked first globally for time spent on social media, according to the Digital 2024 Report in partnership with Visual Capitalist. On average, Kenyans spend 3 hours and 43 minutes daily on social media platforms, not including other internet browsing activities.

This is 1 hour and 13 minutes more than the global average for daily social media use, based on users aged 16 to 64. Worldwide, people typically spend around 2 hours and 30 minutes on social media each day, making up over one-third of their total online time.

The report shows that Kenya leads in social media engagement, surpassing countries like South Africa and Brazil. Kenya's high ranking is linked to its internet penetration rate, which was 40.8% of the population at the start of 2024. South Africa ranked second with an average of 3 hours and 37 minutes spent online daily, followed by Brazil at 3 hours 34 minutes, the Philippines at 3 hours 33 minutes, and Nigeria, rounding out the top five with 3 hours 23 minutes.

Ghana and Egypt also ranked in the top twenty countries, with average daily social media use at 2 hours 43 minutes and 2 hours 41 minutes, respectively. The report noted that, on average, women spend 16 minutes more on social media daily than men. TikTok topped all platforms for the highest average time spent per user, making it the most engaging social media platform.

YouTube holds the largest share of total social media time globally. Japan, however, recorded the lowest average social media usage, with citizens spending only 1 hour and 53 minutes per day. With 5 billion users worldwide, it's estimated that people will collectively spend 500 million years on social media in 2024.