We are social, and Hootsuite has just published the Egyptians and Digital: 2022 Report. It has become a global reference regarding internet stats, mobile stats, and social media stats. Let’s dive into the #Digital2022 report to examine the vital learnings, focusing on Egyptians and digital uses.
You can consult the 2024 update in this article: Egyptians and Digital: 2024 Report
INTERNET USAGE IN EGYPT
Egypt had a population of 105.2 million in January 2022, which increased by +1.9% in one year. In the meantime, the number of internet users has followed exactly that same trend (+1.9%). Consequently, the proportion of internet users among the Egyptian population remained 72%.
Each internet user in Egypt spends an average of 8h02 per day using the internet, which is 26 minutes more than in 2021. It is clearly above the global average of 6h58.
The number of social media users increased by +5% between 2021 and 2022.
SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
In January 2022, there will be 2.5 million more active social media users in Egypt than in January 2021. The 51.5 million active social media users represent 70% of the Egyptian population aged 13 and above (49% of the overall population).
In 2021, Egyptian internet users aged 16 to 64 spent 3h13 using social media, representing +7 minutes compared to the previous year. There was an equal time spent on social media and TV (broadcast and streaming) in 2021, 3h06, meanwhile one year later, the time spent on TV increased by 1 hour (+33%).
In terms of usage time, “good old” TV knocked out social media in 2021.
TOP 10 OF THE MOST USED SOCIAL MEDIA IN EGYPT
Let’s enter the detail on which social media platforms are the most used in Egypt, and the significant evolutions between 2021 and 2022:
By far, Facebook remains the most important social media platform in Egypt, gathering more than 83% of Egyptian internet users every month. The 2022 Report on Egyptians and digital uses decided not to consider YouTube a social media, while it was the leading one in 2020. However, YouTube remains the platform with the most active users in Egypt in 2021 (46.3 million in 2021).
IMPRESSIVE LEAP FOR NEWCOMERS
In the top 10 of 2021, the two newest entrants have double-digit growth.
Tiktok had made a smashing entry in the 2020 ranking by arriving directly at the 7th position. But this year, its growth of +17% has allowed the Chinese platform to move up to 5th place.
Telegram is the second newcomer, gathering nearly 49% of Egyptian internet users aged 16-64 on its platform at least once per month. The instant messaging application founded by 2 Russian citizens and based in Dubai is known for its security, providing end-to-end encrypted communications.
THE SOCIAL MEDIA GENDER GAP
Interestingly, in Egypt, social networks are very gendered.
The overall population is roughly half male (50.4%) and half female (49.6%). However, most social media users at a global level are men.
In 2021, 46% of social network users were women, and 54% were men. Yet, this imbalance is more important in Egypt than in most countries.
We wanted to compare the Egyptian situation with other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. Only a third (38%) of social network users in Egypt are women, while women represent half of the population (49.5%). The difference between the proportion of women in the total population and in the social media users is most significant in Egypt.
GENDER GAP BY SOCIAL MEDIA
We also see that gender-differentiated usage is very pronounced when looking at the platform’s detail.
Source: Datareportal 2022
The most masculine social networks are LinkedIn and Facebook (71% and 64% of users are men, respectively).
Conversely, Snapchat is the most feminine social network as 63% of its users are women. Instagram comes in second place since the platform includes 46% of women and 54% of men. If we stick to gender, Instagram will be the most balanced social network in Egypt in 2021.
Find the complete 2022 Report on Egyptians and digital uses here!
