As they are worldwide, social networks are powerful platforms in the Middle East, influencing news consumption, shopping preferences, and entertainment habits.

Around 96.8% of the total population of Qatar, amounting to 2.62 million people, are active social media users in the country. Age-wise, more than 97% of the users, making up around 2.56 million people, are aged 18 and above, revealed the online reference library Data Reportal. 

Males led the charts, with 71.7% being social media users compared to females, with only 28.3% of women using social media. 

The report stated that the Internet penetration rate in Qatar reached 99% at the beginning of this year, with Internet users increasing to around 2.68 million. With the number of active cell phones reaching 4.89 million, the percentage of cell phones reached over 180.9% of the total population. 

The report said the Internet users in Qatar at the beginning of 2023 reached about 2.68 million, and the Internet penetration rate reached 99%. The report also highlights that there are 4.89 million active cell phone users, equivalent to 180.9% of the total population.

According to the data, Facebook had approximately 1.95 million users in Qatar at the beginning of 2023, which accounts for around 83.6 percent of the eligible audience aged 13 and above who use Facebook in Qatar. 

TikTok had the maximum number of users, with 2.14 million. There were 1.10 million and 1.05 million users of Instagram and Twitter, respectively, while around 975,000 people used Snapchat. 

Around 4.76 billion people use social media worldwide, making up less than 60% of the global population. 

According to the Data Reportal platform, Qatar ranked third in the world in terms of the use of social networks relative to the population. 

Four other Arab countries — the UAE, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Oman- also made it to the top ten in the list of social network usage.