Which nation watches the most social media per person?

You're wondering which nations dominate social media by total hours viewed and how much does each user watch? Me too! The story below is good but missing that metric. Claude to the rescue.

Social Media Use by Country: Who Is Logging Off?

World Population Review

Nov 8, 2026

A global look at changing online habits.

For years the story of social media was one of relentless growth.

In a few of the world’s biggest markets the numbers have now started to slip, while in others time online is still climbing fast.

1. 📉 Three Giants Are Spending Less Time on Their Phones

The clearest decline shows up in total mobile time.

📱 China, Russia, and Brazil all recorded falling mobile hours in 2025, according to Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile report.

China’s total fell from 164 billion hours in 2024 to 148 billion in 2025, a drop of 16 billion. Russia fell from 214 billion to 200 billion, and Brazil from 311 billion to 301 billion.

China was described as the only top-ten market showing a steady decline. Together the three markets lost about 40 billion hours in a single year.

The tracking covers time spent in all mobile apps, not social platforms alone, but social media is one of the largest uses of a phone, so the movement is a useful signal.

📌 Key point: China’s decline works out to about 10 percent in one year (Derived).

2. 🌏 The Biggest Markets by Hours

Total hours show where the world’s screen time is concentrated.

⏱️ India leads with about 1.23 trillion hours of mobile time in 2025, up from 1.13 trillion in 2024.

Indonesia follows at 414 billion hours and the United States at 385 billion. Brazil stands at 301 billion, Russia at 200 billion, Mexico at 175 billion, Pakistan at 169 billion, the Philippines at 153 billion, mainland China at 148 billion, and Nigeria at 129 billion.

India’s total is more than three times that of the United States and more than eight times mainland China’s.

The list shows that population, not just wealth, drives total screen time, since it is led by some of the most populous nations.

🔢 By the numbers: India’s total is about 3.2 times the United States’ (Derived).

3. 🌏 Asia: The Widest Spread

Asia holds both the heaviest and the lightest users.

🇯🇵 Japan spends about 5.1 percent of its waking hours on social media, the lowest of the countries in the DataReportal comparison, while the Philippines spends about 21 percent.

South Korea stands at 6.4 percent. Malaysia is at 16.4 percent, Thailand at 15.1, and India at 14.3.

The gap between the Philippines and Japan is about four to one, which makes Asia the region with the widest range in the data.

Japan and South Korea sit well below most other countries in the survey, even though both are among the most connected societies on Earth.

4. 🌎 Latin America: Always Online

Latin America sits near the top of every ranking.

🇧🇷 Brazil spends about 21.5 percent of its waking hours on social media, followed by Chile at 20.2, Colombia at 20.0, Mexico at 19.4, and Argentina at 18.3.

Five of the top seven countries in the comparison are in Latin America. The region’s figures are bunched within about 3 points of one another.

Brazil’s presence here makes its decline in total mobile hours more notable, since it still ranks among the heaviest users in the world.

The combination shows that a country can rank among the heaviest users and still see its total hours fall. For Brazil, the share of waking hours remains high even as the absolute total moves down.

🧭 Context check: Brazil’s share is about 2.3 times that of the Netherlands (Derived).

5. 🇳🇬 The Two Extremes

An earlier survey shows how far apart countries can be.

🌍 In 2021, Nigerians averaged 4 hours and 7 minutes a day on social media, while Japan averaged 51 minutes.

India stood at around two and a half hours and China at around two hours. Germany came in at 1 hour and 20 minutes, close to the lower end of the group.

The global average at that time was 2 hours and 27 minutes, which put Nigeria well above it and Japan well below.

Nigeria’s daily time was about 4.8 times Japan’s, a gap that illustrates how much habits differ across cultures and income levels.

🔄 Seen another way: Nigeria’s daily time is about 4.8 times Japan’s (Derived).

6. 📈 Where Time Online Is Still Climbing

Not every market is cooling off.

🚀 Nigeria’s mobile time grew about 17 percent between 2024 and 2025, from 110 billion hours to 129 billion.

Pakistan grew about 11 percent, India about 9, the Philippines and the United States about 4 each, Indonesia about 3.5, and Mexico about 3.

Nigeria’s growth is about six times Mexico’s, and it is the fastest of any large market in the Sensor Tower top ten.

The contrast with China, Russia, and Brazil shows that the world is splitting into markets that are still adding hours and markets that have stopped.

🎯 Take note: Nigeria’s growth rate is about 6 times Mexico’s (Derived).

7. 📊 The Ranking: Places 11 Through 20

Past the top ten, the shares drop quickly.

🥇 Thailand ranks 11th at 15.1 percent, followed by Portugal at 14.5, India at 14.3, Russia at 14.2, and the United States at 14.0.

Romania stands at 12.8 percent, Canada at 11.5, the Netherlands at 9.3, South Korea at 6.4, and Japan at 5.1. At the top of the full list, South Africa leads at 22.3 percent, ahead of Brazil, the Philippines, and Chile.

The range from 11th to 20th is nearly 10 points, far wider than the spread among the top ten.

💡 Why it matters: Time on social media shapes sleep, work, and attention, so shifts in national habits can reach well beyond the screen.

The story of logging off isn’t really about technology. It’s about attention, and about how people choose to spend a day.

The countries cutting back are few, but they are large, and the numbers show that growth in screen time is no longer automatic.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, Pakistan, and India are still adding hours quickly, which keeps the global picture in motion.