WhatsApp is the third biggest social app – even more popular than Facebook Messenger – according to recent research by GlobalWebIndex. Nearly 1 in 5 (19%) of adults ages 16-64 worldwide are using the app, the result of a 30% rise in the last six months (note: the data excludes both China and Japan).
Only 3% of adults in the U.S. use WhatsApp, but it is very popular in emerging nations: half or more of the online population in Hong Kong, South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore use WhatsApp. Based on the app’s popularity in these countries, GlobalWebIndex concludes that “it’s clear why its acquisition was so important for Facebook.”
Here’s a list of countries with the highest percentage of WhatsApp users:
