Posted on
2/10/2023

The TikTok stats you should know

Of all social media platforms, TikTok has gained the most momentum and new users in recent months. With over one billion users, the Chinese social network is the most downloaded app. That's precisely why it's so attractive for improving reach and, above all, appealing to a new, young target group. We are looking at the latest statistics to help you better understand and instrumentalize the app.

computer windows with graphics
computer windows with graphics

Key Takeaways

  • TikTok has experienced immense global growth and is one of the most downloaded apps ever with over one billion users worldwide. In the process, the number of monthly active users has grown from 65 million in 2017 to 700 million in 2020.
  • TikTok is also celebrating great success in Europe with over 100 million users. In terms of user base, the United Kingdom (UK) is in first place, followed by countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Norway.
  • TikTok has exceptional engagement rates, the average  being 17.9% for posts in 2021. Creators and influencers are also  found on the platform, which makes it an interesting channel for influencer marketing campaigns despite the low monetization opportunities.

The world of marketing is based on two pillars: Creativity and numbers. While campaigns resonate with users through storytelling and aesthetic content, it is the data and statistics that marketers collect, analyze, and evaluate. So, the combination of creativity and numbers is the unique blend of influencer marketing.

We specialize in data, which we prepare for you on our platform. So, you no longer have to spend time with tedious reporting but can use different filters to search our database for the right influencers. The following articles may also be interesting for you:

TikTok Stats in 2023: User numbers, revenue, age, etc.

First of all, some background information about the emergence of the giant TikTok. The platform, now known as “TikTok”, was founded in China by the company Byte Dance in September 2016 and entered the international market in 2017. Originally, users on TikTok shared short videos with a fun and creative spin. With the acquisition of Musical.ly, the number of TikTok users (especially in America) grew significantly. Then, in 2019 and 2020, TikTok became a hype across generations.

1. How many users use TikTok in 2023?

TikTok users worldwide

By 2021, one billion people worldwide were using TikTok. In other words, that’s two out of ten of the world’s 4.8 billion Internet users who are on the platform. Here are the numbers of monthly active TikTok users since launch (source: businessofapps & Statista):

  • 2017: 65 million
  • 2018: 133 million
  • 2019: 381 million
  • 2020: 700 million
  • 2021: 1212 million.
  • 2022: 1601 million.

TikTok users in Europe

In 2021, there were more than 100 million European Tiktokers, led by the UK with 23.38 million monthly active users. This is followed by (source: Statista):

  • Germany: 19.51 million
  • France: 19.3 million
  • Italy: 15.34 million
  • Spain: 14.98 million

Who uses TikTok the most? The number of downloads

Hand on heart: who really doesn’t have TikTok on his or her phone today? According to the annual Apptopia ranking, the app was downloaded 656 million times from the iOS and Google Play Stores in 2021, 94 million of which were in the US, which makes TikTok the most downloaded app in the world for the second year in a row. Like many areas, the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly increased downloads and TikTok use.

Of particular note is the following for the last quarter of 2021: Instagram has overtaken TikTok,  according to SensorTower data, which specializes in the app economy . One explanation could be that India banned the app , leading to the loss of 200 million users.  As a consequence, Instagram downloads are probably up again.

What is the average engagement rate on TikTok?

If you want to increase your brand awareness quickly, you can bet on TikTok as it is THE platform with the highest engagement rate. In 2021, TikTok videos achieved an average engagement rate of 17.9% while Instagram posts achieved a rate of 3.8% and YouTube had an average of 1.63%.

This rate holds huge potential for businesses. If you want to be one of the lucky ones, check out the Kolsquare blog: How can you improve engagement rates on TikTok? Building a strong and engaged community on TikTok is therefore easier and faster than on Instagram, especially if you want to work with Influencers.

In this blog post, you also learn how to calculate the engagement rate. On Kolsquare, we do this by dividing the sum of interactions (likes, comments, shares, etc.) by the number of views.

How many influencers are on TikTok?

The number of teenagers dreaming of becoming Influencers on TikTok is growing and growing. The influencer marketing industry has grown so much in recent years that many young users have new career aspirations. But how many influencers are really competing for followers on the app? According to AFFDE, the number of Influencers on TikTok has grown from 35,528 in 2020 to 106,104 this year. More specifically, it looks like the following:

  • 2,000 – 15,000 Influencers for those with more than 1 million followers.
  • 3.000 – 30.000 Influencers for those with more than 100.000 followers
  • 5,000 – 50,000 Influencers for those with more than 1,000 followers

Charli D’Amelio and Khaby Lame are ranked  first and second place  of the top 10 Influencers on TikTok, taking turns in ranking  every now and then. You can use the Kolsquare database to create the rankings of your choice and, of course, find out who the top 10 are on TikTok. Or, you can read this article: The Top 10 Influencers on TikTok.

How long do users spend on TikTok on average?

The amount of time we spend on social media today is increasing, as is the number of Influencers on the platform. We can start with ourselves and check the tracker on our phone: How long are you on TikTok & Co?

On average, TikTok users spend 52 minutes per day watching videos. The usage time has doubled between 2020 and 2021! Moreover, most TikTok users open the app nine times a day, the majority at least once. For young people between the ages of 4 and 15, the time spent on the app is as high as 80 minutes.

What is the average age of users?

Globally, the average age is between 11 and 24, with almost as many women (49.6%) as men (50.4%). Generation Z is generally the most represented, but TikTok does not stop at the phones of other generations. The Chinese platform is in a period of change and adaptation to a broader audience.

TikTok facts in the U.S.:

Women (58%) use the application more than men (42%), which is important for brands in the US. The age distribution is as follows:

  • 47% are between 10 and 29 years old
  • 21.7% are between 30 and 39 years old
  • 31.3% are over 40 years old

TikTok Facts in Europe:

As a reminder, the UK has the most TikTok users and an overall older audience as 82% of TikTok users are over 18. Europe also has more female users: 65% in the UK and 56% in Norway and Sweden.

What is the most popular content on TikTok?

The short videos with entertaining and funny content have made the app a success. This also makes it particularly interesting for brands that want to appeal to a young, interactive target group. The promise of virality is generally high. On TikTok, there are many new trends happening quickly, which is why you should trust the influencers – they know what’s hot right now. In general, the most popular content is:

  • Entertainment
  • Dancing
  • Pranks and humor
  • Fitness and sports
  • Home: renovation, do-it-yourself
  • Beauty and care
  • Fashion
  • Culinary topics
  • Lifestyle, as well as tips and advice for daily life;
  • Pets

So many topics to get excited about if you use the right hashtags for optimal visibility: A guide to using hashtags on TikTok

What are the most popular brands on TikTok?

Some brands are just starting to appear on the Chinese social network while others have been there since the beginning. As a brand, you can have a presence on the platform and let your creativity run wild. Another way to increase your brand awareness on the app is, of course, to collaborate with influencers.

No matter what sector you come from, increasing visibility, generating more traffic, demonstrating expertise, and developing unique branding should be your ultimate goal. Here are some examples of inspiring brands:

  • NBA: 12 million followers follow players not just on the court
  • The Washington Post: Entertaining content for their 450K followers
  • Carrefour: Only recently joined TikTok but has already gained 34K followers with dance videos
  • Mac Cosmetics: behind-the-scenes looks at fashion shows and makeup inspiration  for more for 80K followers
  • Chipotle: More than a burrito, the fast-food chain shares recipes with 1.4 million followers
  • BMW: The German automaker has launched #the1challenge, which entices influencers and users to dance across the streets in their BMW 1 Series cars
  • CROCS: The comfortable utility shoe maker has teamed up with famous rapper PostMalone to launch the #ThousandDollarCrocs Challenge with fun and original content

About Kolsquare

Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, a data-driven solution that allows brands to scale their KOL Marketing strategies and implement authentic partnerships with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders). Kolsquare’s technology enables marketing professionals to easily identify the best Content Creators profiles by filtering their content and audience, and to build and manage their campaigns from A to Z, including measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors. Kolsquare has built the largest community of influencer marketing experts in the world, and offers hundreds of customers (Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, El Corte Inglés, Lacoste, …) the latest Big Data, AI and Machine Learning technologies to drive inspiring partnerships, tapping into an exhaustive network covering 100% of  KOLs with more than 5,000 followers in 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. As a Benefit Company, Kolsquare has been pioneering Responsible Influence by championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations to inspire change.

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