Hey folks, it‘s your friendly neighborhood streaming geek here! Today, let‘s dive into the TikTok phenomenon that has taken over social media and analyze TikTok usage and statistics by country in 2023. Which countries have the largest user base on TikTok this year? Read on to find out.
United States: Over 125 Million Users And Counting
The United States is at the top of the charts when it comes to total TikTok users with over 125 million monthly active users as of January 2023 according to Oberlo. This gives TikTok a massive penetration rate of over 35% in the US market.
To give you some perspective on just how popular TikTok has become in the US, consider this – in January 2020, the US had only around 37 million users. In three short years, the user base here has grown over 275% to hit triple digits today.
Much of this phenomenal growth is being driven by the younger demographics. According to Business of Apps, nearly 70% of US TikTok users are between 10-29 years old. It has overtaken Facebook to become the second most popular social media platform among American teens after YouTube.
TikTok has woven itself into American pop culture by fueling viral dance challenges, comedy skits, music trends and more. Homegrown TikTok superstars like Charli D‘Amelio, Addison Rae and Bella Poarch are now bonafide celebrities riding high on billion+ views and millions of fans.
With exciting collaborations happening with major brands, and TikTok shopping on the horizon too, expect the platform to continue its meteoric rise in the US through 2023.
India: A Close Second with 120 Million Users
India comes a close second behind the US as the country with the second most TikTok users in 2023 – around 120 million monthly active users according to estimates by Oberlo.
Given India‘s massive population, this gives TikTok a user penetration rate of nearly 10%. While much lower than the US, it is still pretty darn impressive growth in just a few years.
From 2018 to early 2020, TikTok saw exponential growth in India, even becoming the country‘s most downloaded app for multiple quarters. However, things took a temporary hit when TikTok was banned by the Indian government over security concerns related to its Chinese ownership.
But since its return to India in 2021, TikTok has bounced back strongly despite facing competition from homegrown apps like Josh, MX TakaTak and Moj.
TikTok continues to strike a chord in India thanks to viral dance challenges, funny videos and support for multiple regional languages. According to AppAnnie data cited in an ETtech article, over 70% of Indian TikTok users hail from rural areas and small towns. That‘s the secret sauce to its success here.
Indonesia, Brazil and Russia: Important Markets with Over 50 Million Users
After the top 2 countries, the next 3 in order of total TikTok users are Indonesia with over 115 million, Brazil with over 85 million, and Russia with over 50 million users each as per Oberlo.
TikTok has piggybacked the growth in mobile internet access to become ingrained into youth culture in Indonesia. In Brazil, users are hooked onto its funny videos, live streams and music. Russia was one of TikTok‘s early breakout markets from 2018 itself.
The common thread across these high-growth markets is TikTok‘s ability to spark viral video challenges, songs and memes that take off like wildfire through celebrity influence or word-of-mouth. Its hyper-personalized recommendation algorithm plays a key role in keeping users glued to their feed.
Comparing Top Countries: User Demographics and Behavior
Now that we‘ve looked at the countries with the largest TikTok user bases, let‘s compare some key metrics across these major TikTok markets.
Age Demographics
In the USA, TikTok has maximum popularity among teens and those in their early 20s. As per Oberlo, nearly 60% of American TikTok users are under 24 years old. The rest are primarily in the 25-44 age range.
But in India and Indonesia, TikTok has gained more traction among those in their 30s too. In Russia, the age demographics skew slightly older with more users above 35.
Male-Female Ratio
TikTok has achieved close to gender parity in most countries. But Statista data reveals that India has more male users at 56% male vs 44% female. While in Russia, women have the edge with 38% male users vs 62% female.
Urban Vs Rural Users
As mentioned earlier, over 70% of Indian TikTok users are estimated to be from non-metro locations. But in the US, TikTok has found most takers among urban teens and college kids.
Average Time Spent per Day
TikTok users spend significant time per day on the platform, but India tops the charts here. As per AppAnnie, average time spent per Indian user is 21.3 hours per month, or approximately 44 minutes per day. In the US, it is lower at around 25 minutes per day as per Oberlo.
Top Content Categories
Dance videos, comedy/pranks and music are consistently popular on TikTok across all markets. But in India and Indonesia, inspirational and aspirational content around skills training, careers, and motivational speaking also gets a lot of traction.
TikTok Leaves Other Social Apps in the Dust with Crazy Fast Growth
The speed and scale at which TikTok has grown globally is simply unprecedented in social media history.
Just look at these numbers:
- As per Sensor Tower data, TikTok had 55 million global users in January 2018.
- By January 2023, it had crossed 1.65 billion monthly active users worldwide according to internal data shared by TikTok.
That‘s a mind-boggling 28X increase in under 5 years! No other social media app comes even close on this metric.
For perspective, it took:
- 6 years for Facebook to grow from 100 million to 1 billion users
- 8 years for Instagram to reach 1 billion users
- 4 years for TikTok to hit 1.6 billion users
What explains this astronomical growth?
Well, the short addictive video format optimized for mobile is a big factor. But industry experts also credit the highly personalized TikTok recommendation algorithm that learns user preferences rapidly and serves up a customized endless feed of entertainment.
As Josh Constine, former Techcrunch reporter put it, "TikTok has hacked human psychology and become unstoppable".
Emerging Trends: What Lies Ahead for TikTok in 2023?
TikTok has cemented its place in pop culture and our social lives. But it‘s still continuously evolving. Here are four big trends to watch out for in 2023.
Bigger Brand Collaborations
As a Kantar report noted, around 52% of TikTok users hope to see more branded content from celebrities and influencers rather than ads. Brand collaborations in the style of challenges and hashtags are already popular, and will only grow manifold this year.
Explosive Growth of TikTok Shop and Social Commerce
TikTok is now piloting TikTok Shop across Southeast Asia and already hosts live shopping streams. Industry reports suggest social commerce revenues on TikTok could touch $20 billion by 2023 just in Southeast Asia. TikTok seems poised to take social commerce mainstream.
More Long-Form Videos
While TikTok is still synonymous with 15-60 second videos, it has been expanding format limits to support longer 2-3 minute videos. Expect long-form content for things like tutorials, product reviews and more to find a home on TikTok this year.
Evolution of Augmented Reality Capabilities
From virtual try-ons to effects that transform you into a character, TikTok houses some of the most advanced and fun AR capabilities in social media. These effects help boost user engagement and video views. We‘ll likely see even more innovative AR in 2023.
So in summary, TikTok is showing no signs of slowing down. If anything, the trends indicate the addictive short-video app will be woven deeper into our lives in 2023. I don‘t know about you, but I‘m excited to see what comes next!
Which country are you reading this from, and how popular is TikTok where you live? Let me know in the comments!
