New data from the Market Research Foundation (MRF) reveals WhatsApp as the undisputed king of social media in South Africa, followed by Facebook and TikTok.
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The MRF’s MAPS data, compiled from annual surveys across the country, highlights a significant rise in social media penetration. From 2021 to 2023, it jumped from 53% to 73%, with a staggering 13 million South Africans spending over 20 hours weekly on these platforms.
WhatsApp leads the pack with a massive 28 million active users, followed by Facebook at 25 million. Interestingly, TikTok has surged in popularity, boasting 11 million users, surpassing both Instagram and the formerly-known-as Twitter (X).
The data reveals a shift in dominance over the past three years. In 2021, WhatsApp and Facebook were neck-and-neck, with roughly 44% of the population using each. However, WhatsApp began to pull away, reaching 52% usage in 2022 compared to Facebook’s 48%. This trend continued in 2023, with 66% using WhatsApp and 58% using Facebook.
TikTok’s meteoric rise is another key takeaway. In 2021, it lagged behind Instagram and X, with only 9% of the population using it. But by 2022, it had skyrocketed to 17%, surpassing both platforms. This dominance continued in 2023, with 27% of South Africans using TikTok – even utilizing it as a search engine for roughly 6 million users. Instagram, meanwhile, sits at 16%, and X has seen a decline from 9% in 2021 to just 8% in 2023.
This MRF data paints a clear picture: South Africa’s social media landscape is dominated by messaging (WhatsApp) and entertainment (TikTok), with Facebook, once the leader, slowly losing ground.
