New research has revealed the European countries most reliant on social media, with Cyprus coming out on top.
The study, conducted by gaming site AskGamblers, analysed the latest available usage data for Facebook, Instagram and Messenger to see which countries had the highest share of users compared to the population.
It found that Iceland is the European country most reliant on social media, with a score of 98.14 out of 100 for social media usage. The country has 327,700 Facebook users, equivalent to 92.6% of the population. There are also 213,100 Instagram users, around 60.2% of the population, and 248,900 Messenger users, about 70.3% of the population.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus came second on the list, scoring 97.97 out of 100 based on usage. As of December 2022, the country has 1,170,400 Facebook users, which is 93.6% of the population. There are also around 788,000 Instagram users, 63% of the population, and 825,300 Messenger users, 66% of the population.
Coming in third place is Malta, with a score of 89.71 out of 100 for social media usage. There are 359,900 Facebook users in the country, which is 80.5% of the population. Additionally, the country has 238,700 Instagram users, 53.4% of the population, and 363,900 Messenger users, 69.2% of the population.
Sweden takes fourth place on the list, with a social media usage score of 87.48 out of 100. The country has 8,754,800 Facebook users, 84.4% of the population, and 6,065,400 Instagram users, 58.6% of the population. 55.7% of the population uses Messenger, with 5,777,500 users in the country.
Rounding out the top five is Portugal, which comes in with a score of 87.42 out of 100 for social media usage. 8,444,400 Facebook users are in the country, 83.3% of the population. Instagram also has 5,666,600 users in the country, equivalent to around 55.9% of the country and Messenger has 6,024,500 users, 59.4% of the population.
| # | Country | Facebook users | % of Facebook users | Instagram users | % of Instagram users | Messenger users | % of Messenger users | Score /100 |
| 1 | Iceland | 327,700 | 92.6% | 213,100 | 60.2% | 248,900 | 70.3% | 98.14 |
| 2 | Cyprus | 1,170,400 | 93.6% | 788,000 | 63.0% | 825,300 | 66.0% | 97.97 |
| 3 | Malta | 359,900 | 80.5% | 238,700 | 53.4% | 309,200 | 69.2% | 89.71 |
| 4 | Sweden | 8,754,800 | 84.4% | 6,065,400 | 58.6% | 5,777,500 | 55.7% | 87.48 |
| 5 | Portugal | 8,444,400 | 83.3% | 5,666,600 | 55.9% | 6,024,500 | 59.4% | 87.42 |
| 6 | Norway | 4,688,300 | 83.8% | 2,906,100 | 51.9% | 3,337,100 | 59.6% | 85.57 |
| 7 | Denmark | 4,915,400 | 83.6% | 2,800,600 | 47.6% | 3,626,100 | 61.6% | 84.15 |
| 8 | Georgia | 3,278,100 | 84.2% | 1,459,000 | 37.5% | 2,728,000 | 70.1% | 83.06 |
| 9 | Turkey | 65,700,000 | 77.0% | 52,364,300 | 61.4% | 34,703,200 | 40.7% | 79.18 |
| 10 | Montenegro | 497,100 | 79.8% | 373,100 | 51.2% | 294,700 | 47.3% | 77.92 |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for AskGamblers, said: “It’s interesting that information on usage data for some of the biggest social media sites is readily available nowadays. However, it’s good to have, as it highlights how much the residents of certain countries rely on and use social media in their daily lives. Further expansion of the study may also highlight the divide in internet usage in the Western world.”
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