20+ Instagram Demographics You Should Know Now

We all know how the coronavirus pandemic has hit the global economy and brought about some serious business operation transformations. With lockdowns and social distancing, people across the globe have become more active on the Internet. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have become hotspots and are being targeted by social media marketers in various ways.

Social media marketing is about strategies and techniques. When it comes to running successful campaigns, knowing the statistics and demographics is crucial. In this post, we’re going to look at the data for Instagram, specifically. We will discuss what makes Instagram so popular and why Instagram demographics are important, and then take a deep dive into seven Instagram demographics that matter in 2021, which include:

1. General Instagram statistics
2. Instagram age distribution demographics
3. Instagram gender demographics
4. Instagram geographic & location demographics
5. Instagram ethnicity demographics
6. Instagram income demographics
7. Instagram education demographics

What makes Instagram so popular?

As easy as Instagram marketing sounds, the social media platform has approximately more than 1 billion users worldwide, which is more than 1/10th of the earth’s population. Quite naturally, there’s a high level of competition on this platform.

Instagram is not just a social media networking platform that offers features like uploading and liking pictures. There are a number of factors behind the popularity of the forum, especially among Gen Z users. Let us take a look at some of them:

• It is an intuitive and straightforward platform to use and operate, and the user interface is highly interactive, attractive, and easy to interpret and follow.
• It offers the perfect opportunity for users to gain popularity and showcase their skills and talent to a global audience.
• It is a versatile marketplace with users of all ages and from all parts of the world.
• It is an effective advertising platform for a number of industries and niches.

Why do Instagram demographics matter?

According to studies, 60% of people have said that they discover new products through Instagram, and over 25 million business accounts are operating on the platform. It’s also the 6th most popular social media platform worldwide. With such a large and engaged audience, an effective and fruitful Instagram marketing strategy should aim to:

• Create live leads
• Generate sales
• Build an audience for your brand

And this is what makes Instagram demographics so important. They help social media marketers to not only understand and analyze users, but also to find out the best ways to appeal to their target audience.

As mentioned, the next sections cover seven of the most important Instagram statistics and demographics that matter to businesses and social media marketers who want to build a reputation for their brand or business on the platform.

With these Instagram demographics, you can make the best decisions and formulate the best strategies for a successful social media marketing campaign.

General Instagram statistics

Instagram was launched in October 2010. Since its inception, it has rapidly grown and established itself as one of the best social media marketing tools out there. Top brands and businesses worldwide leverage the platform to establish user engagement, build a strong audience, and effectively increase sales for their business. These general Instagram statistics are sure to encourage you to run some Instagram marketing campaigns:

1. Instagram had almost 30 million users in 2012 when Facebook bought the site.
   
2. Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
3. Instagram also has over 500 million daily active users.
4. Statistics suggest that Instagram ads can help reach more than 928.5 million people (updated by Simon Kemp in 2020).
5. Instagram has also stated in 2019 that almost 90% of Instagram users follow a business account.
6. There are more than 500 million accounts that make use of Instagram Stories every day.
7. The best time to post on Instagram could potentially be 6am now.

Instagram age distribution demographics

When it comes to business marketing, specific brands and products appeal to certain age groups of people. This makes age distribution demographics on Instagram essential. There are two major age groups of users on Instagram:

• 18-24 (Gen Z)
• 25-34 (Millennials)

Keeping track of these statistics can help you identify if your target audience is on Instagram or if you should cater your Instagram marketing to a particular age demographic within your target audience.

Here are a few statistics to make it clear to you:

• Ages 18–24: 75%
• Ages 25–29: 57%
• Ages 30–49: 47%
• Ages 50–64: 23%
• Ages 65+: 8%

(This age-demographic breakdown among the US adults on Instagram is presented here.)

Along with these, Instagram has been most popular among younger users, with 67% of 18 to 29-year-old users, which has risen from 59%  in 2016.

According to the statistics published on Piper Jaffray’s 2019 Taking Stock With Teens, a consumer insights survey showed that almost 85% of teens prefer Instagram as their favorite social network. It was a significant increase since 2017 when only 24% of people said they preferred the social media site.

The statistics for older people are not much behind with the 50 to 64-year-old demographic at 23%, which is up by almost 5% since 2016.

Instagram gender demographics

According to the Pew Research report, Instagram is more preferable to US women than US men.

Amongst the surveyed people, 43% of female respondents reported using Instagram, while only 31% of men did.

Instagram is also more popular with women than with men worldwide. Around the world, 52% of females use Instagram, while only 48% of males use Instagram. That being said, it is also seen that five of the top 10 most-followed Instagram accounts are owned by women, which is 50% of the total. Here are the top 10 most-followed Instagram accounts as of January 2020.

1. Instagram
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Ariana Grande
4. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
5. Selena Gomez
6. Kylie Jenner
7. Kim Kardashian
8. Lionel Messi
9. Beyoncé
10. Neymar

Note that Instagram provides three gender choices when registering for a new account, and the options are:

• Male
• Female
• Not Specified

Although the Pew Research study noticed only a binary classification of gender, it is observed that the country with the highest number of female Instagram accounts is Laos. Afghanistan has the highest number of male Instagram users.

Instagram geographic & location demographics

According to statistics, the United States stands to be the global leader in the highest number of active Instagram users, with 116 million users. However, it must also be mentioned that around 89% of Instagram’s community lives outside of the US.

Image source

The Pew Research survey also showed that 46% of the survey’s urban respondents use Instagram, while 35% of suburban respondents said to have used Instagram. Amongst people living in rural areas, only 21% of people use Instagram, the survey reports.

Here are the global top 10 countries with the highest number of Instagram users:

1. United States: 116 million users
2. India: 73 million
3. Brazil: 72 million
4. Indonesia: 60 million
5. Russia: 42 million
6. Turkey: 37 million
7. Japan: 27 million
8. United Kingdom: 22.9 million
9. Mexico: 22 million
10. Germany: 19.9 million

As we have already said, Instagram is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. It is being adopted as the most preferred social media platform, with rapid growth in users in some countries. The top countries, when it comes to the potential reach of Instagram advertising, are:

• United States of America
• India
• Brazil

Instagram ethnicity demographics

According to statistics, 43% of African Americans living in the US are active users on Instagram, while the platform registers 38% Hispanic users and 32% White American users.

Instagram income demographics

When it comes to income demographics, Instagram is a highly versatile platform with a broad spectrum of Instagram users that include personalities who are hourly retail employees as well as Fortune 500 CEOs.

The Pew Survey provided a detailed breakdown of the income of Instagram users:

• <$30,000: 35%
• $30,000-$74,999: 39%
• $75,000+: 42%

Instagram is the perfect place that offers a platform to both budget brands and luxury labels and has the right kind and number of audiences to whom they can appeal. Zara, for example, has an Instagram account with more than 42 million followers.

Instagram education demographics

Instagram education demographics are often overlooked but are among the most important to consider. It has been noticed in the Pew survey that 43% of US adults using Instagram possess a college degree or have higher educational qualifications, while 37% of users have some college education.

Only a mere 33% of Instagram users have a “high school degree it less.” All across the world, several renowned and reputed colleges and universities have their own Instagram accounts. The platform helps keep current students and alumni connected and engaged with the institution.

Use these Instagram demographics for campaign success

Instagram demographics should be part of the foundation of your campaign strategy so that you can make the best decisions and formulate the right plan based on your brand, products, and the target audience to whom you want to appeal.

Whether you are striving to get more Instagram followers on your business account or if you need to make the perfect Instagram ad, understanding Instagram statistics and demographics is essential to the success of your Instagram marketing strategy.

So, dive into the numbers and soar to success on Instagram!

About the author

Bhavik Soni is a Creative Writer at Auto Monkey, which provides an original analysis of the latest happenings in the social media industry. Connect with the latest social media trends and news plus tips on Twitter, Facebook, and more.