WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform used worldwide to send messages, share media, and more. Likewise, the social media platform is almost eclipsing Facebook, another property of its parent company, Meta.
This collection of relevant statistics, facts, and trends show interesting WhatsApp insights for now and the future of social media and instant messaging.
Top 6 Statistics on WhatsApp (Editor’s Pick)
- Over 2.4 billion people used WhatsApp monthly in 2022.
- Russia was the fastest-growing WhatsApp market in 2022.
- In August 2021 alone, WhatsApp was downloaded 39 million times.
- Brazil and Indonesian users spent an average of 29 hours on WhatsApp monthly in 2021.
- In 2021, Hispanic Americans were likelier to use WhatsApp than Black or White Americans.
- WhatsApp has more users than Facebook Messenger.
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WhatsApp Usage Statistics and Facts
1. Over 2.4 billion people used WhatsApp monthly in 2022.
WhatsApp had over 2.4 billion monthly active users in 2022, making it the largest instant messaging platform in the world.
2. India had the largest user base of WhatsApp in 2022.
With over 487.5 million active users, the country is one of the biggest WhatsApp markets.
3. Russia was the fastest-growing WhatsApp market in 2022.
Russia only accounts for 67 million users in total, but it is one of the fastest-growing markets for WhatsApp. It grew by 17% in 2020-2021 alone, followed by India, which grew by 16.6% in the same timeframe.
4. The United States had the fourth-largest WhatsApp user base in 2022.
WhatsApp had only 76 million users in its home country, the USA, making this the 4th largest user base. Brazil was the second, with 108.4 million, while Indonesia was third, with 84.8 million users.

5. Every day in 2021, 100 billion daily WhatsApp messages were sent and received.
This 2021 research also shows that the number spikes, especially during holidays. Although WhatsApp is most people’s primary communication channel, it has never crashed, except when Meta’s entire services crashed during the 2022 major outage.
6. In August 2021 alone, WhatsApp was downloaded 39 million times.
10 million downloads came from the Apple App Store, and the rest (29 million) came from Google’s Play Store. Since its launch, it has been downloaded over 5 billion times from the Google Play store alone.
7. WhatsApp Business has been downloaded 18 million times.
This is across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store from its launch in January 2018 to September 2021.
8. Millions of users left WhatsApp in 2021.
In 2021, WhatsApp announced the latest changes to its privacy policy, which sounded as if it threatened users’ privacy, prompting a massive backlash. After WhatsApp clarified the policy, everything slowly returned to normal.
9. 5 million users signed up for WhatsApp Business when it first launched in 2018.
And by 2021, it already had 100 million downloads tracked on the Google Play Store alone.
10. Brazil and Indonesian users spent an average of 29 hours on WhatsApp monthly in 2021.
This is followed by Argentina and India, with 28.8 hours and 21 hours of monthly usage, respectively.
WhatsApp Demographics, Statistics, and Facts
11. Most WhatsApp users in 2021 were between the ages of 26 and 35.
This user group accounted for 27% of all users of WhatsApp.
The 36–45 age group accounts for approximately 20% of WhatsApp users, while the 46–55 age group accounts for about 17% of total WhatsApp users.
Finally, people over the age of 56 account for approximately 13% of WhatsApp’s total user base, while those aged 19–25 account for about 19%.

12. In 2021, 53.9% of WhatsApp's global user base were men.
Data from 2021 also shows that women make up the remaining 46.1% of users on the platform by gender.
13. In 2021, Hispanics were likelier to use WhatsApp than Black or White Americans.
46% of Hispanic Americans admitted to using WhatsApp, more than Black Americans (23%) or White Americans (16%).
14. WhatsApp is restricted in China, Iran, the UAE, Cuba, Qatar, and Syria.
As of January 2023, WhatsApp is not available in China. That is because Meta (formerly Facebook), its parent company, would not give Chinese authorities room to censor messages on the platform.
WhatsApp is also not available in Iran and Syria for political reasons.
However, the UAE and Qatar governments blocked WhatsApp’s audio and video calling, citing security and privacy concerns, but users can still send messages.
WhatsApp Business Stats
15. More than 50 million people have signed up for WhatsApp Business since its launch in 2018.
16. WhatsApp Business is used by Indian and Brazilian businesses the most.
Over 15 million Indian businesses are registered on WhatsApp Business, followed by Brazil, with 5 million businesses.
17. In 2021, WhatsApp Business had 8 million catalogs.
India topped the list with over 1 million catalogs available to users at the time.
18. In 2022, WhatsApp Business was primarily used for customer support.
WhatsApp Business was used to engage with customers and offer instant customer support. Businesses also used the platform for pre-sales support, brand awareness, and customer engagement.
WhatsApp Pay Stats
19. In 2021, WhatsApp launched its payment services as a pilot project in the US.
WhatsApp Pay was first launched in India and Brazil, the company’s top two markets.
20. Brazil’s Central Bank banned WhatsApp Pay after a week of its launch.
Brazil’s Central Bank cited the prevention of monopolies and ensuring healthy competition as its reasons. After a year of suspension, Brazil’s Central Bank allowed WhatsApp to relaunch its payment feature in May 2021.
21. As of July 2022, WhatsApp Pay continued booming in India.
In July 2022, 23 million users used WhatsApp Pay to send and receive money, with a total transaction value of up to Rs 502 crore (about $61 million).
WhatsApp Financial Revenue, Facts, and Trends
22. WhatsApp’s initial seed funding round in 2009 raised $250,000.
The seed funding came from friends of the co-founder, Brian Acton.
23. In 2014, WhatsApp revenue was $1 million.
Before Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, its yearly subscription fee was $1.
24. Meta (previously Facebook) acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014.
Meta’s $19 billion payment for WhatsApp makes it Meta’s highest acquisition ever.
Other Facts About WhatsApp
25. WhatsApp has more users than Facebook Messenger.
As of July 2021, over 2.4 billion people used WhatsApp monthly.
Whereas only 1.3 billion people used Facebook Messenger every month.
26. WhatsApp launched a PC and Mac app in 2016.
WhatsApp only released an app version for PC and Mac in May 2016, seven years after it first appeared on smartphones in 2009.
27. WhatsApp brought the audio and video calling feature to the desktop and Mac in 2021.
As of January 2023, it is yet to bring group calling support for desktop app users.
28. WhatsApp is available in more than 180 countries.
Out of 195 countries, WhatsApp is available in over 180 countries, across which it supports over 60 languages. Thus, making it one of the most popular social networking apps.
WhatsApp Continues to Grow!
WhatsApp is one of the largest social networking apps with a widespread reach.
However, it has never made any money (or publicly declared profits) since Meta, previously known as Facebook, acquired it.
Still, the platform has massive revenue potential, and business owners already leverage the business sub-platform to pull in revenue.
Whether you use WhatsApp for business or to only connect with loved ones, these intriguing statistics show another side to the instant messaging platform.
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