Twitter - Statistics & Facts

In early April 2022, tech billionaire and prolific Twitter user Elon Musk made headlines when disclosing his recent acquisition of a 9.1 percent stake in Twitter, worth almost 3 billion U.S. dollars, making him the top shareholder of the company. By the end of April, following a shock bid, the Twitter board agreed to sell the company to Musk for 44 billion U.S. dollars, pending shareholder approval. Musk previously stated his views that the platform does not support the principles of freedom of speech, and looks to make alterations to the platform, such as changes to current regulations, open-source algorithms, and the eradication of fake accounts.

Twitter’s company financials

In 2021, Twitter’s revenue amounted to over 5 billion U.S. dollars and the company incurred a net loss of 221 million U.S. dollars. Overall, the majority of Twitter’s revenues were generated via advertising, with a small portion being generated through data licensing. Twitter went public in November 2013 and is ranked as one of the largest internet companies in the United States with a market capitalization of 28.93 billion U.S. dollars as of February 2022.

Twitter’s audience

As of the fourth quarter of 2021, Twitter had 217 million monetizable daily active users (mDAU), indicating steady growth in users in recent years. Although the micro-blogging platform is popular, its audience size does not compare with social media giants such as Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp – all of which have over 2 billion monthly active users. Twitter finds popularity amongst those aged 25 to 34 years, with this age group accounting for 38.5 percent of the social platform’s worldwide user base in 2021. Additionally, men made up 56.4 percent of Twitter’s audience.

As of April 2022, former U.S. President Barack Obama was the most followed person on Twitter, with a total of over 131 million followers. Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Rihanna followed, all with over 100 million followers on the platform.

Social media users' activities on Twitter

People use Twitter for many reasons, and their activities on the platform differ depending on their tweet volume. As of May 2021, 82 percent of high-volume Twitter users in the United States used the site for entertainment purposes, compared to 76 percent of low-volume users. Additionally, close to eight in ten high-volume tweeters use the site as a way to express their opinions. In 2021, Twitter was the online network from which over half of social media users in the United States regularly got their news. Social media users are therefore more likely to access news from Twitter than any other major social media platform.

Public opinion

As with most social media platforms, false information and harmful content are a cause for concern. In May 2021, over half of all respondents surveyed in the United States stated that inaccurate or misleading information was a major problem for Twitter. Additionally, 47 percent said that harassment and abuse on the platform were also main issues. Nonetheless, as of November 2021, almost 40 percent of adults in the United States had a favorable opinion of Twitter.

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