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40+ Instagram Statistics & Trends [2026 Update]

There's no doubt that Instagram is a hugely popular social media platform. It's currently one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with an incredible 3+ billion active monthly users.

But is everything as rosy as it seems? Those with keen eyes will have spotted that at some point over the summer of 2022, the platform shifted away from still images and started pushing "reels." These video shorts were an attempt to start competing with Instagram's thorn in its side – TikTok.

As influencers ditch Instagram in favor of TikTok, the platform is scrabbling to find a new identity and stay relevant in the ever-shifting landscape of social media.

This huge change has created a backlash from Instagram's faithful followers and has raised questions about what Instagram is trying to achieve. Is it attempting to copy and surpass TikTok? Or is it attempting to carve out a new identity?

One thing is for sure, despite the controversy, Instagram still manages to churn out some impressive statistics, so let's see what the platform has in store for 2026.

Chapter 1

General Instagram Statistics

First, let's check out some general Instagram statistics and facts for 2026:

Key takeaways:

See references

Instagram surpassed 3 billion monthly active users in 2025, with India having the most users. In comparison, the platform only had 90 million active users in 2013 and 2 billion in 2023.

How many Instagram users are there? Instagram has over 2.2 billion daily active users (DAUs).

Instagram now generates the majority of Meta's ad revenues. In 2026, around 54% of Meta's advertising revenue comes from Instagram.

The most liked post of all time remains @leomessi winning the 2022 World Cup (over 75 million likes), the most-liked Instagram post in history.

Instagram is the 4th most visited website in the world (behind only Google, YouTube, and Facebook), according to Similarweb.

In 2023, Zara was the brand with the most mentions on Instagram. Shein and Instagram were the second and third most mentioned brands.

Instagram's average engagement rate per post is around 0.50%. Reels have the highest engagement rate (around 1.23%), followed by carousels (0.99%), while static images sit at roughly 0.59%.

As of 2026, the most-followed account overall is Instagram's own @instagram account (over 680 million followers). The top five most-followed individuals are: Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) 660+ million, Lionel Messi (@leomessi) 500+ million, Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) 420+ million, Kylie Jenner (@kyliejenner) 390+ million, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (@therock) 390+ million.

The top five most used hashtags on Instagram are #love (2.1 billion), #instagood (1.5 billion), #fashion (1 billion), #photooftheday (988 million), and #art (888.6 million).

In 2023, New York was the world's most Instagrammed city, and Coffee was the most Instagrammed food.

In 2023, the most Instagrammable places in the United States were: The Brooklyn Bridge, New York (35,980 posts), The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco (23,557 posts), Union Station, Denver (11,785), The Hollywood Sign (9,243 posts), and The Space Needle, Seattle (7,120 posts)

Pizza is the most popular Instagrammed food, followed by Sushi and Hamburgers.

The most Instagrammable food and drinks in 2023 were: Coffee, Wine, Pizza, Ice Cream, and Sushi.

Chapter 2

Instagram User Statistics

Now, let's move on to Instagram user statistics and facts for 2026:

Key takeaways:

See references

59% of users log into Instagram daily, and 21% log into the platform weekly.

The average Instagram user spends around 38 minutes using the app per day, with users aged 18–24 averaging closer to 52 minutes.

42% of users log into Instagram multiple times a day.

The average length of a single Instagram session is 3.1 minutes.

Instagram is the world's second most downloaded app of all time. However, the crown for the most downloaded app goes to TikTok.

Around 70% of Instagram users watch the video content in Stories on a daily basis.

The most common number of hashtags used per post is between 3-5. The ideal amount is 11.

Since Instagram was launched, more than 50 billion pictures and videos have been shared on the platform. It's reported that 1,074 pictures are uploaded on Instagram per second.

63% of Instagram users open the app at least once per day.

The top 5 countries with the most Instagram users are India (392 million), the USA (172 million), Brazil (141 million), Indonesia (90 million), and Turkey (57 million).

Over a third of all internet users have a registered Instagram account.

Chapter 3

Instagram Demographic Statistics

What do Instagram's demographic statistics and facts have in store for 2026?

Key takeaways:

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The global gender split is roughly 50.6% male and 49.4% female, the most balanced of any major social platform. (The U.S. audience skews female at around 55%, while India skews male at around 67%.)

The 25–34 age group is Instagram's largest demographic, accounting for around 31% of the total audience, followed closely by the 18–24 bracket.

There are 170.8 million active Instagram users in North America

88 percent of Instagram users live outside of the U.S.

There are 200 million businesses on Instagram, and 71% claim to use the platform for business purposes.

Users aged 25 spend an average of 32 minutes per day on Instagram compared with those aged over 25, who spend around 24 minutes per day on the app.

Adults aged 50 or over use Facebook about four times more than they do Instagram.

Around 62% of Instagram users are under the age of 35. Only a small share are aged over 65.

46% of Instagram US-based Instagram users live in urban locations, 35% in suburban areas, and 21% in rural locations.

45 percent of Instagram users live in urban locations, 41 percent in suburban, and 25 percent in rural locations.

Chapter 4

Instagram Marketing Statistics

Finally, let's uncover some great Instagram marketing statistics and facts for 2026:

See references

Instagram now generates the majority of Meta's advertising revenue - around 54% as of 2026, overtaking Facebook.

The Instagram influencer marketing industry surpassed $22 billion in 2025, and around 93% of all influencer marketing campaigns use Instagram as a key platform.

An estimated 71 percent of U.S. businesses use Instagram, and 80 percent of accounts follow a business on Instagram.

The most used emoji on Instagram is "Face with Tears of Joy" 😂

Micro-influencers (10K–100K followers) typically charge $500–$5,000 per Instagram post, with rates varying more by niche and engagement than by follower count alone.

58% of Instagram users say they're more interested in a brand after seeing it featured in a Story.

According to a Collabstr study, 82% of all influencers studied offer services on Instagram, while 61% of all influencers offer services via TikTok.

Instagram business accounts with less than 10,000 followers enjoy an average engagement rate of 1.11%.

80 percent of Instagram users say they have purchased a product they saw on the app.

Brand Stories have a whopping 86% completion rate meaning users view the entire Story in one go. The most active brands post 17 Stories per month.

To get the highest engagement from Instagram, the best time to post is Wednesday between 9-11 am CST.

44% of consumers use Instagram to shop on a weekly basis, and one in two people have used Instagram to discover new brands.

Facebook's global advertising reach only increased by 6.5% this year, while Instagram's ad reach grew by a massive 20.5%.

Video posts have the highest overall engagement rate and receive two times more engagement than other types of posts.

The three most important ranking factors for Instagram's algorithm are relationship, interest, and relevancy.

90% of Instagram users follow at least one business, while the average business account grows its audience by around 1.69% per month.

Summary

Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger but is now owned by Meta (bought for $1 billion in 2012). The platform was initially started to share photos among friends but quickly evolved into a marketing behemoth dominated by celebrities and influencers.

As Instagram's algorithm shifts away from static photos to favor video content, it remains to be seen if the platform can keep up with TikTok's ever-growing user base.

In an effort to keep you up-to-date with the latest 2026 Instagram user demographics, trends, and stats, you can be assured that this article gets a complete revamp every year.

Bookmark this page to stay on top of the latest figures.

References

If you are interested in more statistics, then check out our Internet stats.

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