Is Facebook dying? What the statistics say

Amidst Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of the many new features on Facebook at the recent f8 conference, the young CEO confirmed that the world’s most popular social network had hit the 800-million user mark.

This figure seems to fly in the face of the many reports on blogs and mainstream media announcing Facebook’s “imminent death” despite the anecdotal evidence of a “backlash” against Facebook. Memeburn contributor, Amanda Sevasti explains why people are opting out of Facebook: “Today we have those who delete their Facebook accounts or refuse to have one at all. And I’m not talking about the over-40s, but Millenials who’ve grown up online”.

There were also reports that people were choosing to leave Facebook over privacy concerns. One study, reported by PC World, found that at least 60% of users considered deactivating their accounts.

Furthermore, the Huffington Post and others reported in June that there were two consecutive months of net user loss in developed markets — where early adopters are commonly found. This was a first for the social network.

Such reports have fueled articles by the likes of Slate, the Guardian, and the Economist, asking whether or not Facebook had “peaked”.

However, according to figures from Social Bakers, one of the biggest social media statistics portals in the world and a preferred Facebook developer consultant, reports of Facebook’s death seem to have been greatly exaggerated.

These figures show that despite reports arguing Facebook has seen user loss in developed markets, and growth in emerging markets, Facebook actually continues to see steady and dependable growth in developed markets.

For instance, over six months, Facebook gained 3 556 900 users in the US, (an increase of 2.34%), the UK 1 397 040 (+4.83%), France 2 015 000 (+9.58%), Italy 1 803 200 (+9.78%), and in Germany 5 018 800 (+30.95%).

It cannot be denied, though, that Facebook’s largest growth continues to show an emerging markets bias. In September alone Brazil added more than three-million users to the social network representing more than 100% growth. Over six months, user numbers in Indonesia grew by 14.91%, India by 65.13% and Mexico by 34.08%.

Top growing countries on Facebook in September

In Africa, Egypt is still the giant of Facebook with more than 8-million users (a growth of 55.54% over six months), followed by South Africa with almost 4.5-million users (a growth of 17.96% over six months).

The darker the nation, the more users it has

Developed markets though with their established users bases, continue to dominate on a global scale.

For a full and interactive look at these figures and maps over various time-spans, visit Social Bakers.