How Many People Use Google Maps in 2023?
Google Maps has become the go-to navigation app for billions of users worldwide. With its detailed maps, real-time traffic data, location search, and mapping capabilities, Google Maps makes getting around easier than ever. But just how many people are using Google Maps in 2023? Let‘s take a detailed look at the latest statistics.
Monthly Active Users: Over 1 Billion
Google Maps boasts over 1 billion monthly active users globally, as announced by Google CEO Sundar Pichai in 2020. This makes it by far the most popular navigation app worldwide.
While Google does not disclose official MAU data, estimates put it at around 1.3 billion monthly active users as of 2023 based on past growth trends.
For context, here‘s how Google Maps compares to some of its top competitors in terms of monthly active users:
App | Monthly Active Users (millions)
Google Maps | 1300
Waze | 151
Apple Maps | 74
TomTom | 15
Mapquest | 10
Google Maps‘ 1.3 billion monthly users is nearly 10x larger than its next closest competitor, Waze. This dominance highlights just how vital Google Maps has become for navigation and location-based searches for smartphone owners worldwide.
Year-Over-Year Growth:
Based on past growth trends, Google Maps has been adding between 100-200 million new monthly active users per year.
For example, Google reported having over 1 billion monthly active users in 2020. Estimates for 2022 put that number around 1.2 billion. That represents a 20% increase in just two years.
At this rate, expect Google Maps to continue expanding its user base in 2023 and beyond as more people come to rely on its maps and navigation.
Downloads and Usage in the United States
In the United States, Google Maps remains the most downloaded navigation app by a wide margin. It was downloaded nearly 25 million times on iOS and Android devices in 2022 – far surpassing the 9 million downloads for Waze, its closest competitor.
Google Maps also dominates web traffic, recording 196.8 million visits to its website in May 2023 alone. This represents impressive 10% growth over the previous month.
The US accounts for 19.44% of Google Maps‘ total website traffic – indicating America‘s widespread adoption of the service. For many US smartphone owners, Google Maps has become the default app for all navigation and mapping needs.
Global Downloads Still Strong
Worldwide, Google Maps continues to be one of the most downloaded mobile apps in the Google suite. In May 2023, it was downloaded over 11 million times globally across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
YouTube led downloads among Google apps with 16 million, followed by the core Google Search app with 11.6 million. But Google Maps‘ 11+ million downloads show it remains popular for device owners to install worldwide.
Demographic Breakdown: Who is Using Google Maps?
In the US, Google Maps sees relatively even usage across gender and age demographics:
- Male vs Female: 53% male, 47% female
- Age: Highest usage among 25-34 year olds, followed by the 18-24 and 35-44 demographics
Among ethnic groups, Caucasian smartphone users account for the largest share at 70% of Google Maps users, followed by Hispanic/Latino users at 12%.
When looking at usage by income bracket, Google Maps appeals strongly to middle and higher income users:
- Over 40% of users come from households earning $100k+ per year
- Just under 30% of users come from households earning $50-100k
- Under 30% of users come from households earning under $50k
This indicates Google Maps overindexes with affluent users who likely rely on its features for both commuting and personal travel.
Top Use Cases:
Google Maps is utilized most heavily for:
- Driving directions – 77% of users
- Searching for local businesses – 68% of users
- Getting walking directions – 55% of users
- Exploring local points of interest – 51% of users
- Public transit directions – 47% of users
Users also frequently rely on Google Maps for:
- Tracking travel routes
- Saving locations like home, work, venues
- Sharing locations and routes with contacts
- Exploring restaurants, events and attractions
- Getting traffic and arrival time estimates
- Viewing street imagery and panoramas
This showcases the breadth of use cases Google Maps serves from navigation to discovery to planning.
Advantages Driving Adoption:
What explains Google Maps‘ runaway popularity? Several key advantages:
- Pre-installed on Android devices
- Integrated with Google Search and other Google apps
- Regular updates with new features
- Real-time traffic, hazard, and disruption alerts
- Extensive business listings and location data
- Accurate turn-by-turn voice directions
- Availability across web, iOS and Android
- Clean and intuitive mobile interface
- Trusted brand familiarity as a Google product
Together, these advantages have made Google Maps a daily essential app for navigating, exploring, and getting things done on-the-go.
The Future of Google Maps
With over a billion monthly active users today, Google Maps is poised for continued growth in 2023 and beyond.
Upcoming developments like Live View AR directions, immersive street views, eco-friendly routing, and traffic prediction promise to further evolve the app and delight users.
As new regions come online and more of the physical world gets digitally mapped, Google Maps‘ capabilities will only expand. For billions of people globally, it has become the definitive way to explore, navigate, and experience the world around them. And its ubiquity is only increasing with each passing year.
So when asking “how many people use Google Maps in 2023?”, the answer is simple: a whole lot, and even more with each passing year!
