As of January 2023, 89.5% of the total population in Singapore uses social media.
That is 5.30 million Singaporean social media users.
This staggering number is no surprise when we consider that Singapore has one of the fastest internet connections in the world.
Here are some key and interesting social media statistics in Singapore we’ve picked out for you.
Social Media Usage Statistics in Singapore (Key Stats)
- 5.30 million Singaporeans use social media in 2023 (89.5% of population)
- 5.12 million Singaporeans use social media daily
- Singaporeans use social media 2h 31 min every day on average
- YouTube is the most used social media platform with 5.08 million users
- WhatsApp is the favorite social media network with 31.1% of internet users
- Millennials are the generation that uses social media the most
- 72.8% of Singaporeans access social media via mobile phones.
- 29.5% of Singaporean college students exhibit signs of social media addiction
Singapore is a highly technologically advanced country and Singaporeans spend more than seven hours online daily.
One-third of that time they spend on social media.
So, there is a lot going on in the social media landscape in Singapore.
In this article, you will discover the most important social media statistics that shed light on the current state and future trends of social media in Singapore.
Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect to learn.
- which social media networks do people in Singapore use the most
- which social platform is the favorite of each generation
- how Singaporeans get on social media
- which networks to keep an eye out for
Social Media Users in Singapore (by the numbers)
How many people in Singapore use social media?
According to Digital Report Singapore, 5.30 million Singaporeans use social media in Singapore in the year 2023.
That’s a 5% increase from two years prior.
A Statista report found that 5.05 million Singaporeans were using social media in 2020.
The report estimates that by 2025 the number will grow by 10.9% to 5.60 million users.
So far, the estimate is showing to be in congruence with reality.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022, Statista
What percentage of Singaporeans use social media?
Singapore’s population stands at 5.95 million inhabitants.
89.5% of Singapore’s population uses social media.
This number seems even more impressive when you consider that 92% of the people in Singapore have access to the internet.
This means that almost all people with internet access are also social media users.
To be exact, 97.3% of total internet users in Singapore use social media.
This does not come as a shock when you look at the fact that Singapore has one of the fastest internet connections in the world and a high internet penetration rate.
Sources: Wordlometers, Digital Report Singapore 2022, Statista
Number of active social media users in Singapore
While 89.5% of all of Singapore’s population use social media, they are not all active users.
We derive the number of active users in Singapore by looking at the number of active social media users of popular social media platforms in the country.
From the Digital Singapore Report 2022 we extract the following Singapore social media statistics:
Number of YouTube Users:
5.08 million active YouTube users in Singapore
Number of Facebook Users:
3.55 million active Facebook users in Singapore
Number of LinkedIn Users:
3.20 million active LinkedIn users in Singapore
Number of Instagram users:
3.05 million active Instagram users in Singapore
Number of Twitter users:
2.85 million active Twitter users in Singapore
Number of Facebook Messenger users:
2.05 million active Messenger users in Singapore
Number of TikTok users:
1.83 million active TikTok users in Singapore
Number of Snapchat users:
995000 active Snapchat users in Singapore
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022
Monthly social media users in Singapore
According to a report by Statista 2020, 86% of Singaporeans use social media monthly.
This translates to around 5.12 million monthly social media users.
Sources: Statista
What is the Penetration Rate of Social Media in Singapore?
The social media penetration rate is calculated as the percentage of the country’s population that uses social media at least once per month.
A 2020 Statista report measured the social media penetration rate in Singapore from 2017 to 2020.
Based on the Statista report, 86% of the country’s population used social media networks at least once a month in 2020.
The projections show that the social media penetration rate in Singapore is forecasted to grow to over 92.5% by 2025.
Sources: Statista
Social Media Demographics in Singapore
Social media usage (by gender)
On average, 50% of Singaporeans that use social media are female and 50% are male.
This 50/50 demographic split is in line with the gender patterns of the population.
As of January 2022, 47.7% of the population in Singapore is female and 52.3% are male.
Singapore’s social media usage gender demographics per social media platform:
- Facebook Demographics: 48% of the Facebook users are female; 51.5% are male
- YouTube Demographics: 47% of the YouTube users are female; 53% are male
- Instagram Demographics: 54.2% of the Instagram users are female; 45.8% are male
- TikTok Demographics: 54% of the TikTok users are female; 46% are male
- Facebook Messenger Demographics: 50.5% of the Facebook Messenger users are female; 49.5% are male
- LinkedIn Demographics: 46.2% of the LinkedIn users are female; 53.8 are male
- Snapchat Demographics: 46.6% of the Snapchat users are female; 52% are male
You should keep in mind that social media demographic data refers to the “eligible” ad audience of each platform.
This is the audience eligible to be reached via social media marketing activities on the platform.
Plus, data related to demographics may be considered sensitive data and it is not always fully displayed.
Therefore, the demographic statistics may not always add up to 100%.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022
Social media usage (by age)
Internet usage in Singapore has increased every year across all age groups.
According to Statista, in 2020, 100% of Singapore residents aged 15 to 24 years use the internet; 94% of 25 to 74 years residents; 90% of residents younger than 15 years old; 46% of residents over 75 years old.
If we look at the data released by Meta in 2022, we notice that the biggest users of social media are Singaporeans aged 25 to 34 years old; 35 to 44 follow behind.
The Meta report goes one step further and divides the age demographic based on gender as well, which you can see on the graph.
Meta’s Singapore social media usage by age:
- 13 to 17 years old: 2%
- 18 to 24 years old: 12.6%
- 25 to 34 years old: 35.6%
- 35 to 44 years old: 23.3%
- 45 to 54 years old: 13.1%
- 55 to 64 years old: 7.9%
- 65+ years old: 5.5%
The island’s younger audiences, 18 to 44-year-olds, are the majority of social media users.
Once again, you should keep in mind that these statistics refer to each platform’s “eligible” ad audience.
For instance, Facebook users cannot be younger than 13 years old.
However, this restriction may not prevent everyone from opening a social media account.
In fact, two-thirds of Singaporean kids aged 7 to 9 use smartphones daily: many use them to access social media such as Facebook.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022, Statista, The Straits Times
Social media usage (by generation)
As we saw above, different age groups have different usage habits.
These different age groups can be further grouped into distinct generations.
The names of the generations are defined by birth year and age.
Based on Beresford Research, in 2022, people from 10 to 25 years old belong to the Gen Z generation.
Meanwhile, people who in 2022 are between 26 to 41 years old are known as Millennials.
Generation X is the age group of 42 to 57.
People above 58 years old are considered to be Boomers.
So far, there are no studies that have analyzed the usage of social media by generation in Singapore.
However, looking at the data on usage in Singapore by age that we presented in the section above, we can attain a few insights about the data by generation.
The age group report released by Meta shows that Singaporeans from 13 to 24 years old make up 14.6% of the Singaporean population that uses social media – we can define these younger users as Gen Z.
In Singapore, social media users aged 24 to 44 years old make up 58.9% of users.
This generation is known as the Millennials.
Generation X can be assigned to people in the age group 45 to 54 that make up 13.1% of users.
Meanwhile, Boomers make up around 13.4% of Singaporeans that use social media.
Singapore’s social media usage by generation:
Gen Z: 14.6%
Millennials: 58.9%
Generation X: 13.1%
Boomers: 13.4%
In Singapore, Millennials are the generation that uses social media the most.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022, Beresford Research
Average Time Spent on Social Media in Singapore
How much time do Singaporeans spend on social media?
On average, Singaporeans spend 7h 29 minutes daily on the internet.
Out of that, they spend 2h 31 min daily on social media.
That’s around one-third of their time online which Singaporeans dedicate to social media networks.
We’re also seeing an upward trend in how much time Singaporeans spent using social media – there is a positive 10.2% year-on-year change.
This means that from 2021 to 2022, Singaporeans spent around 14 minutes more using social media on average.
Shedding a bit more light on this topic, the 2022 Singapore Digital Report looks into how much time Singaporeans use social media mobile Apps.
The study tracks the social media habits of Android users over the course of the year 2021.
Here it should also be mentioned that Singapore has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world.
So, it makes sense that the majority of people in Singapore access social media via their mobile phones.
Therefore, these statics are a reliable and close depiction of reality.
From the report, it is worth noting that on average, Singaporeans spend the most hours each month on YouTube.
Also, while TikTok holds the fourth spot on the list, it’s the social media network exhibiting the most growth.
Average time Singaporeans spent on social media apps every month:
- YouTube: 20.8 hours/month
- Facebook: 18.2 hours/month
- WhatsApp: 17 hours/month
- TikTok: 16.3 hours/month
- Instagram: 9.9 hours/month
How much time do Gen Z spend on social media?
According to the World Economic Forum, Gen Zers spend the most time on social media across all continents.
The younger users spend around 2h 55 min daily on social media.
Given the consistency of the results across the regions, we can apply these insights to the social media landscape in Singapore.
Since there are no studies on Singapore and this topic, we can use the consistency of the global results to extract information.
Similar to the global average, Gen Zers in Singapore may also spend around 2h 55 min online.
Instead of focusing on the definite figure, focus on the fact that this generation spends the most time daily on social media.
How much time do Millennials spend on social media?
The World Economic Forum reveals that in 2018, Millennial worldwide spent on average 2h 38 min on social media.
How much time do Gen X spend on social media?
In comparison, Generation X are less avid users of social media.
This generation may spend around 1h 49 min using social media every day.
How much time do Boomers spend on social media?
Boomers worldwide are spending less time than other generations on social media every day. This generation spends around 1h 12 min daily on social media platforms.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022, World Economic Forum
Social Media Usage in Singapore (by device)
What device is most used for social media in Singapore?
The Digital 2022 Singapore Report reveals that 90.9% of Singaporeans are mobile Internet users.
80.1% of users access the internet using laptops or desktop computers.
33.4% of users prefer using a tablet device.
As you can see, mobile phones are the device mostly used by Singaporeans to access the internet.
There are 8.70 million mobile connections in Singapore.
That means that mobile connections equals 147% of Singapore’s population.
As such, Singaporeans predominantly go on social media using their mobile device.
Concretely, 72.8% of Singaporeans use social media primarily through their mobile phones.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022
Social Media Popularity in Singapore
What is the most popular social media in Singapore?
First, let’s define what a popular social media platform is.
If we define popularity by how many people use a social media network, then Singaporeans prefer YouTube, making YouTube the most popular social media platform in Singapore.
Alternatively, if we define popularity by which social media is most liked, WhatsApp holds the number one spot in Singapore as the most popular social media.
31.1% of Singaporeans that use the internet claim that WhatsApp is their favorite social media network.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022
What is the most used social media in Singapore?
People in Singapore use 7.5 social media platforms each month.
Based on the Singapore Digital Report 2022, YouTube holds the number one spot as the most-used network among people aged 16 to 64.
Specifically, this is measured as the percentage of all internet users that have used each of the social media networks in the past month.
With an 88.7% monthly usage rate, YouTube is closely followed by Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram.
It’s worth noting that we have not included the data from the 2022 Digital Report as the study excludes YouTube, one of the main social networks used by Singaporeans.
Which social media platforms does Gen Z use in Singapore?
TikTok is the preferred social media of Gen Z in Singapore. Start.io found that 62.1% of TikTok users are Gen Zers.
Which social media platforms do Millennials use in Singapore?
In Singapore, Facebook has a huge user base of Millennials comprising a whopping 58.8% of its total audience.
Which social media platforms does Generation X use in Singapore?
While not a majority, Generation X in Singapore primarily uses Facebook as their go-to social media.
Which social media platforms do Boomers use in Singapore?
Data from Blackbox shows that WhatsApp is the most used social media among Boomers.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2021, Digital Report Singapore 2022, Start.io, Blackbox
What is the most downloaded social media platform in Singapore?
Data from AppTweak shows that TikTok dominates the market share of social media mobile apps.
TikTok is the most downloaded app on both the App Store and Google Play Store.
Given the platform’s exponential growth with a year-on-year change rate of +74%, the high mobile connection rate in Singapore, and the fact that users prefer video platforms and getting on social media on their mobile devices, is no wonder we see TikTok at the top.
Specifically, in 2022 TikTok has over 400,000 downloads on App Store and over 500,000 on Play Store.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022, AppTweak
What is the most visited social media platform in Singapore?
Besides using a social media app, various users also prefer social media sites.
That’s a big chunk of the internet users that does that as social media sites rank among the most visited according to several rankings.
In 2021, YouTube In Singapore was visited 1.71B times via a browser.
This makes it the most visited social media website in Singapore.
After Google, YouTube is the second most visited website in Singapore.
Other platforms making an appearance on the top ten top of most visited websites are Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
Facebook is the third most visited website in Singapore and the second most visited social media. Twitter holds the eighth spot as the most visited website.
WhatsApp is in the tenth spot.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022
What is the Next Big Social Media Platform in 2023?
The TikTok app, TikTok Now holds the number one spot as the most popular social media app on both Google Play Store and the App Store.
These popularity rankings take into account factors beyond the total number of downloads.
They point to trends.
Moreover, looking at the App store ranking of social networks in Singapore, we notice that a new network is quickly rising to the top.
We are talking about BeReal
BeReal was launched in 2020 and has recently been making a name for itself.
This app currently ranks number two on the App store and number nine on the Google Play store for the country of Singapore.
With TikTok Now and BeReal, we notice a new wave of alternative platforms that are geared toward real-time authenticity.
Sources: Similarweb
Social Media Addiction Statistics in Singapore
Singapore holds the 6th place in the world when it comes to social media usage rates.
As previously stated, 89.5% of the total population in Singapore uses social media.
So issues related to social media addiction are gaining widespread attention in Singapore.
Social media addiction is characterized by an obsessive tendency to use social networks despite the negative impact on relationships, health, and/or well-being.
It is a form of social media abuse.
While not officially recognized as a diagnosis, users of social media who experience addiction face the same symptoms associated with other forms of addiction, including mood changes, decreased tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms.
Moreover, studies have shown that ultimately, social media abuse and addiction may lead to lowered self-esteem, reduced academic and professional performance, relationship issues, and even physical health problems.
A 2017 study published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry highlighted that college students in Singapore are the demographic more at risk of suffering from social media addiction.
In particular, the researchers observed that 29.5% of the surveyed Singaporean college students could be regarded as being addicted to social media.
The fact that the younger social media crowd is more likely to suffer from social media abuse is no wonder since young people are the majority of users in Singapore.
This shows that living in the Golden Age of the Internet, when not properly managed, has the potential to bring a series of negative consequences for the overall well-being of the population.
Besides social media abuse, there’s also the risk of cyber scams that attract users, including ones related to digital payment transactions.
Sources: Digital Report Singapore 2022, Statista, FrontiersIn, ScienceDirect
Summary
Singapore has a state-of-the-art internet infrastructure, making it one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.
Consequently, the use of social media is widespread amongst Singaporeans; 97.3% of internet users in Singapore are also active on social media.
If you’re looking to tap into this market, it’s important to be aware of the best social media marketing companies in Singapore that can help you reach your target audience effectively.
Overall, the statistics show that the use of social media in Singapore is continuously increasing.
This increase is facilitated by advancements in technology infrastructure.
As such, it is expected that the social media landscape in Singapore will continue to grow and shift.
We’ve rounded up the most important social media statistics in Singapore that you should be familiar with. Which one did you find the most surprising or interesting?