WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app worldwide, thanks to its rich and interactive features like polls, reactions, GIFs, buttons, pictures and video. It’s become a must-have tool for marketers who want to connect and reach their audiences, and generate sales and leads, as well as customer service teams who want to deliver fast responses.
Find out exactly how the app is used today and where it’s heading, with over 50 WhatsApp statistics below.
Headline figures
- In June 2024, WhatsApp had more than 2.9bn monthly active users – up 7% from the previous year
- There are predicted to be 3.2bn WhatsApp users globally in 2025
- WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app worldwide and the fourth most popular social network following Facebook, YouTube and Instagram
- In Q3 2024, the app was downloaded 1.1m times in the UK alone
- Of those who have downloaded WhatsApp, 83% open the app everyday
WhatsApp’s journey since 2009
WhatsApp was launched in 2009 by programmer Brian Acton and Yahoo! employee Jan Koum – it was named after the phrase ‘What’s up.’
- WhatsApp was founded in America and initially designed for iPhones, but then rolled out for Android and Blackberry
- Because of its increasing popularity, it received $8m investment in 2011 from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital for a 15% stake and another $50m in 2013
- In February 2014, the app was bought by Facebook for $21.8bn
- It introduced features like end-to-end encryption and video calls in 2016
- WhatsApp Business launched in 2018, so businesses could use it for marketing and other communications
- WhatsApp today is owned by Meta, who also owns Facebook and Instagram
Who uses WhatsApp today?
Businesses of all sizes are using WhatsApp’s interactive tools (like click-to-chat ads, chatbots and rich features) to reach their customers and overhaul their communications. Consumers use the standard free app to chat to family, friends, and get the latest offers and news from their favourite brands.
By country
- WhatsApp operates in 180 countries including the UK, US, Brazil, India, Mexico, Japan, Spain and Germany
- The app is banned in China, North Korea, Syria and Iran
- In Q2 2024, downloads increased the most in Indonesia by 27%, followed by Pakistan (17%) and Japan (11%)
- Top three countries relying on WhatsApp include Brazil where it has a 98.9% penetration rate, followed by India (97.1%) and Italy (97%)
By device
- Over 5bn Android users have downloaded it
- It’s the third most downloaded social networking app on the Apple store
- In Q2 2024, the app was downloaded 27m times worldwide by iPhone users – with over 5m based in the US
- WhatsApp was downloaded 46m times globally in July 2024
By user
- Over half (52.5%) of WhatsApp users in 2024 were male and 47.7% female
- Users need to be aged 13 or over to access it
- Around 83% of 16-17 year olds use the app to send and receive messages in the UK
- The largest user group is millennials (born between 1981-1996) where 54% use it
- Almost three quarters (73%) of internet users aged 16-64 use WhatsApp every month
Businesses
- WhatsApp Business had around 200m monthly active users globally in July 2023
- It’s estimated that 55,000 UK-based medium to large businesses were using WhatsApp in 2024
- The business app was downloaded 24m times alone in July 2024
- In 2023, over $382m was generated from the app worldwide
- Nearly 500,000 companies using WhatsApp have 0-9 employees, followed by 20-48 (215,783 companies) and 10-19 (104,132 companies)
Mobile phone usage
With the many channels available to brands, mobile communication remains one of the fastest ways to reach and engage customers. Businesses using WhatsApp to message also have access to read receipts to follow up messages/leads, and report on performance.
- There are over 7.33bn smartphone users worldwide – accounting for just over 90% of the global population
- Nearly 90% of customers won’t answer the phone to unknown numbers
- There are over 1.38bn iPhone users worldwide
- Android has a market share of just over 70% and sold 1.39bn smartphones in 2023 alone
- The average smartphone user will check their mobile 47 times a day, rising to 82 for those aged between 18-24
Number of messages sent
- Around 140bn messages were sent on WhatsApp every day in 2023, which works out as 1.6m messages sent every second
- The predicted daily average screen time on WhatsApp is 34 minutes per user
- Around 17 hours is spent on the app every month per user
What is WhatsApp used for
- Around 200m businesses use WhatsApp for marketing, authentication, utility and service messages
- In 2025, nearly one million business users use the app as a communication tool
- Nearly 60% of messages are sent in a group chats with more than two people
- Over 2bn voice and video calls are made on WhatsApp everyday
- Users can send one reaction per message
WhatsApp marketing
Businesses using WhatsApp Business for marketing have seen impressive results:
- Three times faster response rate to queries
- 91% customer query resolution rate
- Over half (57%) of new leads gained through WhatsApp’s automated messaging features
- Call centre volumes dropped by a third
- 30,000 customer service requests through WhatsApp every month
- Those who adopted automated messaging saw a 36% drop in call centre costs
Our own research, The Connected Consumer Report, found that it was one of the most popular ways to get in contact with customers:
- 80% of consumers are likely to respond to a WhatsApp message from a business
- Another 80% would stop using an organisation if the quality of communication was poor
- 90% said personalisation encourages them to take action some of the time
- 51% trust organisations with a verified sender ID
- 42% of Spanish customers say rich content in WhatsApp encourages engagement
- User-initiated conversations are growing, which makes WhatsApp popular for marketing, retention and customer support
Wider industry statistics reveal:
- Two thirds of customers make a purchase after chatting to a brand through WhatsApp
- Nearly three quarters (69%) are more likely to buy from a brand if they have WhatsApp
- 66.7% of users agree that the platform is user friendly
The future of WhatsApp
The popularity of WhatsApp continues to climb with an extra 76.3m people predicted to download the app by 2029.
As the stats show, more and more businesses are recognising the potential of WhatsApp to engage and connect with customers. It has unmatchable reach in a number of markets and remains a consumer favourite.
Learn more about how WhatsApp can support your business.
Mary Henry
Mary has extensive experience in communication, PR and journalism - most recently across SaaS businesses. A keen researcher and storyteller, Mary is highly skilled in making complex concepts accessible, and in putting customers at the heart of her communication. She has supported all kinds of businesses to tell their brand, product and people stories - from global multinationals to start-ups across retail, travel/leisure, banking/finance, government and educational institutions.
