China Social Network Users 2019

Executive Summary

Inside China’s digital ecosystem, a number of homegrown social networks have blossomed and attracted millions of users, as popular Western platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are kept out due to censorship. What’s more, the influence of these services continues to grow, and they have become an indispensable part of daily life for more than nine out of 10 internet users in China.

How many social network users are there in China?

There will be 819.9 million in 2019, an increase of 5.6% over 2018. While the penetration rate among internet users is at 94.5%, social networks are used by only 59.0% of the country’s population. Moderate growth will continue through 2023, when the number of social network users will increase to 961.0 million, accounting for 68.5% of the population.

What demographic segments are driving social network user growth in China?

Older population segments (ages 45 and older) currently underindex in terms of social network user penetration. But the biggest year-over-year growth in 2019 will come from these older users, led by those 65 and older (25.5%) and 55- to 64-year-olds (18.7%). This trend will sustain itself throughout the forecast period ending in 2023.

How many users do Douyin, Sina Weibo and WeChat have in China?

WeChat is the largest, with 654.1 million users in 2019, followed by Douyin with 442.6 million and Sina Weibo with 359.6 million.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report contains updates to our forecast for social network users in China and features our estimates for Douyin, Sina Weibo and WeChat.

KEY STAT: By the end of 2019, there will be 819.9 million social network users in China.