Despite the enormous number of social network users in the country, penetration among the population will be 61.6% in 2020, due in most part to only 62.4% of the population having access to the internet.
But continued infrastructure investment from the government, especially in rural areas, will improve telecommunications, inviting more people to become internet users. We estimate that internet user penetration will reach 70.7% by 2023, which will increase the number of social network users.
Social network penetration is predictably high among younger generations in China. By 2019, more than half of internet users ages 34 and younger were social network users, while those 55 and older made up just 12.5%. This makeup is gradually changing, however. We estimate that the share of social network users ages 55 and older will rise to 17.4% by 2023, while users ages 34 and younger will drop to 44.0%.