Starting from humble beginnings, Facebook over the course of the past two decades has created a platform, ecosystem and network of connected businesses that continue to thrive well into the 21st century. This one platform has positioned itself to become the most used social site on the planet. As of today, approximately half of the internet users and one-third of the total world population use Facebook every day! To get an in-depth idea of how it has grown over the years, keep scrolling.
Growing in Numbers
It took 16 years for Facebook to reach a spectacular 2.6 billion active users per month, which is more than 100 times the population of Australia. Facebook was officially launched in 2004 and ended the year with having approximately 1 million registered users. Access to Facebook was limited to only a few colleges and universities in the initial years. Later in 2006, when Facebook decided to make the platform available to everyone, it observed a sharp rise in its user base.
By the year 2008, Facebook had surpassed the 100 million users milestone and hit 500 million in 2010. Within the next two years, Facebook doubled its user base, reaching 1 billion as of 2012, which many considered to be its greatest achievement. In the next five years, Facebook kept growing to achieve 2 billion monthly active users in 2017.
Changes in Demographics
Having a well defined user base in its early years, Facebook has had to ensure that anyone could use the platform and find value in it. Initially, access to Facebook was only limited to the students of Harvard, and later expanded to Stanford, Columbia, and Yale within the next month. By the end of 2004, Facebook was made available to almost all US and Canadian universities.
Data shows that one-third of the Facebook users come from the Asia-Pacific region alone, approximately 832 million in total. The sum of users, coming from Latin America and Europe counts for another third, which is 415 and 395 million, respectively. As of mid-2020, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil have 190, 130, and 120 million users. As for Australia, 60% of the total population uses Facebook, which counts for 16 million monthly users.
Growing in Numbers
It took 16 years for Facebook to reach a spectacular 2.6 billion active users per month, which is more than 100 times the population of Australia. Facebook was officially launched in 2004 and ended the year with having approximately 1 million registered users. Access to Facebook was limited to only a few colleges and universities in the initial years. Later in 2006, when Facebook decided to make the platform available to everyone, it observed a sharp rise in its user base.
By the year 2008, Facebook had surpassed the 100 million users milestone and hit 500 million in 2010. Within the next two years, Facebook doubled its user base, reaching 1 billion as of 2012, which many considered to be its greatest achievement. In the next five years, Facebook kept growing to achieve 2 billion monthly active users in 2017.
Changes in Demographics
Having a well defined user base in its early years, Facebook has had to ensure that anyone could use the platform and find value in it. Initially, access to Facebook was only limited to the students of Harvard, and later expanded to Stanford, Columbia, and Yale within the next month. By the end of 2004, Facebook was made available to almost all US and Canadian universities.
Data shows that one-third of the Facebook users come from the Asia-Pacific region alone, approximately 832 million in total. The sum of users, coming from Latin America and Europe counts for another third, which is 415 and 395 million, respectively. As of mid-2020, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil have 190, 130, and 120 million users. As for Australia, 60% of the total population uses Facebook, which counts for 16 million monthly users.